Angel's Tale
by E. Rayne
Summary: Leon's life is both repetitive and predictable. Despite contrary belief he doesn't need nor want a change. But when a certain blonde haired angel comes crashing through his window he realizes he may not have a say in the matter. CloudLeon, RikuSora
1. It's raining men?

**Angel's Tale**

_**Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I **_**don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?**

**Chapter One **  
_It's raining…men?!_

"That'd be $2.50 in late fees."

"What? But I told you; I was on my way to return it when a car hit my mother! We had to rush to the hospital!" The woman exclaimed.

Leon sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. It was going to be one of _those_ days again. "You had a responsibility to return that video back here at 12:30 yesterday afternoon. You didn't so you pay."

"My _mother_ was in the _hospital_!"

"But _you_ weren't. This is the real world Ms., Not your favorite day time soap opera."

The woman glared at him before slamming the money on the counter and storming out mumbling something about never coming here again.

"Way to go Squallie boy." Yuffie said from her place sitting on the back counter. "Another lost customer who hates you."

Leon rolled his eyes grabbing the DVD and leaving the counter to restock it. "That's Leon."

"I understand that she _had_ to pay the money, but…her mother was in the hospital Leon…you could've been a little nicer."

Leon looked down to see Sora sitting on the ground restocking a box of DVD's. He glared at the boy before turning to return to his spot.

_Is it going to be like this forever?_ Leon thought resting his elbow on the counter and his hand in his chin. Working 9 to 5 in the same tiny video store with the same people doing the same things for the rest of his dragging life? _Not if I can help it._

"And how would you have handled it Mr. Compassion?" Riku asked emerging from the stock room carrying two more large boxes.

"I would have explained to her how sorry I was that her mother was in the hospital and calmly explain that she did need to pay the late fee no matter the circumstances." The brunette said tossing the now empty box into the stock room.

"Ha! Yea right! You probably would've started sobbing and paid it for her." Yuffie said swinging her feet back and forth.

"I would not!" Sora exclaimed pouting.

"You would've caved in babe." Riku said giving Sora a kiss on the cheek, laughing at the pout on his boyfriends face. "Yuffie and Sora, can you guys restock these movies…No…wait. I actually _want_ customers so Leon and Sora switch places." He disappeared behind the curtain leading into the stock room.

Leon scowled, grabbing a box and leaving the counter.

"Wait wait wait!" Riku exclaimed returning from the stock room quickly. "I actually _want_ to make money so Sora take Yuffie's box, Yuffie, you deal with the customers."

"Aye Aye Captain!" Yuffie exclaimed happily thrusting her box into a protesting Sora's hands and jumping back on the counter to continue her swinging.

Leon sighed contently as he slowly walked along each row, putting the movies where they belonged. It was a small video store, out of the way on a flat boulevard running for about 3 miles with two big name video stores a few shops away. Business was _always_ slow, giving the employees much more time to socialize than Leon really cared for, but on the rare occasion that Sora and Yuffie were silent Leon could honestly say he liked it here.

"Squuuuuuuaaaaaaaalllllliiiiiieeeeeeeeee."

The brunette's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. '_Spoke too soon.'_ He thought to himself. "For the millionth time, it's _Leon_. What do you want?"

"How do you work this thingy?" Yuffie asked pointing to the TV mounted on the wall with a DVD player underneath it.

"How should I know?" He said annoyed, stocking the last movie and moving to another aisle.

"You're _always_ at the register."

"Dealing with customers, not watching movies Yuffie."

"You mean to tell me, you stand here, for four to six hours, doing _nothing._" Yuffie cried in disbelief. "You mean to tell me, that when you're _not_ dealing with customers you're just…_standing here_?"

"You're not getting paid to watch movies!" Riku cried from the back.

"Right! I'm getting paid to deal with customers, there are no customers, and therefore I have nothing to do. You can't expect me to just stand here like Mr. Ice cube over there."

"You're sitting down Yuffie." Squall said, placing the last box on the shelf and moving behind the counter.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "You're so…_responsible_." Yuffie said scrunching up her nose.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." He said snatching the DVD from her and putting it in the player.

"It's not necessarily a _bad _thing. But, I don't know, you always go right by the book. Live a little Leon!" Yuffie said spreading her arms out for emphasis.

Leon merely grunted tossing Yuffie the remote and leaning against the counter.

"You know what I think." Sora said emerging from the six long aisles that made up the store. "You need a bright spot in your life. Something new and different to shake you from this boring routine." He jumped so that he was sitting on the counter.

"Yea! You're _not _ugly, not even close. Fix up your attitude and you'd have no problem getting a girlfriend." Yuffie said happily.

"Or a boyfriend!" Sora said just as happy and he noticed them exchange a look.

"Oh, no no no you are _not_ interfering in my life." Leon said, recognizing the look in their eyes. "I'm perfectly happy with my life just the way it is."

"AW! Come ON Leon! I have plenty of desperate single female friends that would be perfect! A bunch of desperate single males too!" Yuffie exclaimed bringing out the puppy eyes.

"Yea!" Sora said following suit. "Plus, you meddled in Riku and my relationship."

"I gave him a note you wrote! I'd hardly call that meddling!" Leon exclaimed. "And only because you got on your knees and begged!"

"Nyaa you're no fun." Sora and Yuffie said in unison.

"I don't need a 'bright spot'. I don't need a change. I love everything just as it is." Leon said sitting down on the floor behind the counter.

Yuffie scowled at him before pressing play. "Yea sure."

* * *

"Is that the last one?" A man asked, long silver hair flowing behind him and one large black wing sticking out gracefully from his back.

"No Sir, a late edition." A soldier said.

The mans bright green eyes rested on the blonde angel the two white winged soldiers were bringing out. He was young and handsome with bright blue eyes and a nice build. He was bruised, obviously emerging from a beating to face his punishment. The general took out his clipboard, finding the angels picture and profile. His lips curled into a sinister looking smile as he approached the blonde, who seemed to have trouble keeping his head up.

"What a shame, such a pretty face." He said running a hand along the blonde's cheek.

Glaring at him the blonde moved his face away, only causing the silver haired man to laugh. He dismissed the two soldiers, grabbing both of the blonde's shoulders to steady him as his support left.

The man lent in closer till he was so close his breath caused the hair on the boy's neck to stand up. "All of this could've been avoided. If you would have just done what I wanted."

His hands found their way to the blondes back, curling around the soft feathers that made up his two wings. He could feel the blonde flinch with pain and he smiled before pulling as hard as he could.

The blonde cried out before dropping to the ground.

"I hereby expel you from the sky, may your human life be plagued with the curses you bestowed upon us." He said before, with a sharp kick to the side, the blonde fell from the sky.

* * *

"Hiya! Welcome to Hollow Bastion Films how may I help you?" Yuffie said as the bell on the door rung and a young man a little older than her entered.

"Yea…uh, I'd like to get a card with you guys…"

"Really? Awesome! What's your name?" She asked pulling out the papers.

"Tony M-"

"T-Tony?" Yuffie said quietly eyes filling up with tears. "TONY!" she screamed beginning to sob.

"Oh for Christ's sake get a hold of yourself woman." Leon mumbled grabbing the pen and papers out of her hand, shoving her towards the stock room. '_This is what I get for being nice…I am __**never**__ letting Yuffie watch West Side Story again.'_

"Your name sir?" Leon looked up just in time to see the door closing as the man left. "Greaaat." He mumbled crumpling up the paper and throwing it in the garbage can.

His watched beeped twice signaling the change of the hour and he sighed in relief when he realized it was 5'o clock at last.

* * *

Riku pulled the drawer out of the register, counting up the money. "We have fifty six dollars and no new customers, no returning customers either." He looked at Leon and Yuffie when he said this.

The three employees were gathered behind the counter, Yuffie sitting on the back counter, Leon leaning next to her and Sora sitting cross-legged beside the cash register. All three exchanged a worried look at their manager's sudden change in demeanor.

Riku sighed running a hand through his hair. "If business doesn't improve…this shop will have to close."

"What?!" All three exclaimed together.

"You can't close! We need this job Riku! This is more than a job, we're practically family!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"It's either that or bankruptcy!" The silver haired boy exclaimed slamming his fist into the counter in frustration. He took a deep breath, calming down. "Believe me. Closing down is the last thing I want to do. But the bank has its eye on us. If the loans don't get paid back, or we don't actually look like we're making _something _by the end of the month I'll have to sell the store."

"Don't worry Riku!" Sora exclaimed, putting a supportive arm around his boyfriend. "I'm sure we can come up with something."

"Well, in the meantime, don't bother coming in tomorrow. It'll save on the bills. Just…stay at home, see if you can think of any ways to attract customers." Riku said before retreating back into the stock room.

Sora smiled apologetically to his friends. "See ya Monday." He said before retreating into the stockroom as well.

* * *

Leon sighed as his umbrella turned inside out. Mumbling curses under his breath he tried to get it back into position but only succeeded in breaking the top part off. He dropped it onto the ground and the wind blew it away before he could pick it up again.

He growled, throwing the now useless stick onto the ground and continued walking.

He heard sirens and a police car stopped right in front of him. "Littering. Sixty dollar fine." An officer said, handing him a slip before getting back in her car and driving away.

Leon took a deep breath, counting to ten and continued on his way. '_It's pouring rain, my job may not be there next month, I got a sixty dollar ticket because of a stupid umbrella, Yuffie made me sit through West Side Story for the eighteenth time this week, Can this day get __**any**__ worse?_'

Just then a speeding car passed through a puddle, a giant wave of water coming right towards him. '_Apparently yes_.' He thought hopelessly.

"Whoa! Watch it!" a familiar voice said, grabbing his arm and pulling him out of the way of the puddle. "Sheesh Squall wake up." Yuffie exclaimed punching him on the arm.

"Thank you." He said flatly before turning to continue his walk.

"Yo Leon!" Yuffie called after him. He turned and looked at her expectantly. "Don't look so grumpy! See ya Monday." And she was gone.

"Weird girl…" he mumbled

* * *

A shower, dinner, and thirty-minute nap later Leon was relaxed and calm. The house was silent except for the rain and occasional clap of thunder. He sighed, lying back onto the couch so that his gaze was forced towards the window. It was a good neighbor hood, filled with large houses, respectable families and friendly neighbors.

In other words, families on the verge of counseling, wars over who had the best lawn, back stabbing, and gossip. The only reason he stayed here was because his mother had left him the house when she died, and he really didn't have the money to go somewhere else. Things were convenient and familiar here, just how he liked it.

"_You always go right by the book. Live a little Leon!"_

He closed his eyes scowling. _I am living…aren't I?_

Leon wasn't aware he had fallen asleep until the unmistakable sound of glass shattering startled him awake. He rubbed his eyes, glancing at the clock.

11:15

He stood, grabbing the poker from the fireplace and heading upstairs. He peaked into the guest room, empty. The bookroom and bathroom, empty. He paused in front of his room and took a deep breath. He raised the poker, resting it on his shoulder, wrapped his hand around the doorknob and pushed.

Sure enough the large window was shattered and the rain poured in, soaking the black carpet. '_That's going to cost a shitload to fix…'_ He thought turning the light on and entering the room. He walked around the bed to where the window was, eyes widening in shock as he saw what exactly had destroyed his window.

Lying, soaking wet, on the carpet amidst the broken glass was the most beautiful man Leon had ever seen. He was slightly smaller than Leon, well built but with a sort of femininity about him. The rain had plastered his blonde hair to his face and his skin was flawless, save the various bruises adorning his body. His white shirt was soaked red with blood.

Leon dropped the fire poker, rushing to kneel at the mans side. "Are you alright?" he asked shaking him.

This was the second floor, in order to come crashing through the window he'd have to have come from above.

'_Nonsense'_ Leon thought, looking out the window, '_People don't fall from the sky.'_

_

* * *

  
_

**a|n:  
**edited May 25, 2009


	2. Angel Without Wings

_**Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts...I wouldn't be writing a disclaimer.**_

**Chapter Two**  
_Angel Without Wings_

Blue eyes fluttered open slowly, scanning the room before stopping to rest on the navy sheets he lay under. _'Where am I?'_ He caught sight of the broken window, realization dawning.

He winced, examining the cuts and bruises on his forearms. His back was throbbing and he shivered as the storms strong winds pushed through the curtains. _'So this is pain.'_ he thought as a sharp sting ran up his spine.

"You're finally awake."

His head snapped towards the doorway, flinging droplets of water everywhere. There stood a tall brunette, leaning casually against the doorframe, a first aid kit hanging limply from his right hand.

"Is this your house?"

Leon scoffed moving so he was standing in front of the bed. "Yes. Mind telling me what you're doing here?"

"I fell."

Leon stared at the blonde for a moment, as if evaluating his seriousness. He shook his head, sitting on the bed and opening the first aid kit. "Care to explain how you fell through a second floor window?" Leon asked, dabbing at the cuts with a cotton ball.

The other man bit his lip, debating on whether or not he should tell Leon the whole truth. He was silent for a moment, watching the brunette dress his wounds. Chocolate colored hair fell into his face and a long diagonal scar decorated the bridge of his nose merging with thick black lashes to give him a rough yet vulnerable look. He seemed trust worthy (although the blonde wasn't sure exactly how he came to that conclusion). Of all the places on the earth for him to land, the fact that he had ended up in this room with this man had to mean _something_.

"I'm an angel. Well was an angel, which explains how I got here." the blonde said quietly.

Leon stopped what he was doing to look up at the blonde. "Are you serious?" he asked on the verge of laughter. One look at the blonde answered his question. '_He's insane!' _Leon thought. '_There's a crazy man in your house, on your bed-Get him out!_' Still, there was something about the blonde that made a little piece of Leon want to believe him.

He certainly had the face of an angel, and there was no other way for him to have gotten through the window other than coming from the sky.

"So, I'm supposed to believe that you're some kind of angel?" Leon asked his tone clearly one of disbelief as he placed a bandage on a particularly large looking cut.

"A fallen angel actually. Well I'm human now, even though I have no idea where to start." Blue eyes lit up with excitement as if he had discovered the answer to all his problems. "Maybe you can show me!"

Leon responded by merely turning the blonde around, breath catching in his throat as he caught sight of two extremely large and painful looking long gashes that reached from his shoulder blades, all the way down to the waistband of his pants. '_As if two wings were ripped away_.' Leon shook the thought from his head. '_Whatever. Don't ask questions. Just clean him up and get him the hell out of here._' He raised a hand to dab at the wound but stopped as it glowed green for a moment before slowly healing itself right in front of his eyes. The only proof that there had ever been anything there was the two scars left behind. Other than that the blonde was good as new.

The man turned around, smirking as he saw the dumbfounded look he'd expected to see on the other mans face. "I'm Cloud."

Leon struggled to regain his composure before curtly replying "Leon."

"Well there goes the rest of my magic. Now I'm 100 percent human. Just like you."

Leon couldn't understand why, but something about Cloud's smile made him want to help him. '_With a smile like that...he'll never be 100 percent human...or just like me_.'

They sat in silence for a moment, Leon fighting with his commonsense and his unexplainable (and thoroughly frustrating) attachment to the blonde. "Why..." Leon stopped as if coming to his senses, but continued anyway. "Why don't you just stay here?"

Commonsense had lost.

Cloud looked up at Leon hopefully. "You mean...you'll help me?"

_'You're insane. You're inviting a possibly dangerous psycho to live in your house._' "Yes. There's more than enough room here." Leon said, shaking off that annoying voice in his head that Leon had always agreed with up until now.

Before he could register what was happening Cloud had thrown his arms around Leon, nearly knocking them both onto the floor.

"Thank you thank you thank you so much!"

Leon found himself smirking despite himself as he gently pushed the blonde away.

And just like that Leon was sure, for the first time in a long time, that he was doing the right thing.

* * *

'_That should do it._' Leon thought as he stepped away from the window to admire his handiwork. Light taping on the plywood let Leon know the rain was slowly letting up.

He dropped on the bed with a sigh, enjoying his moment of peace. Everything was happening so fast he had barely had enough time to take it all in. The fact that the intelligent part of his mind seemingly had no affect on his actions was somewhat frustrating, but also exciting. He was doing something he wanted to do, something new, different and even a little bit crazy. That was all that mattered.

He'd explained to Cloud how to turn on the shower and then left the blonde to try something he'd "always wanted to" as his first act in showing the "angel" how to be human.

He wasn't sure if he _believed_ that the blonde was an angel, but he was sure that Cloud wasn't lying when he said he was. If that made any sense at all. '_What makes sense anymore?_' he thought dropping to the bed in exhaustion.

As if on cue, his cell phone began to ring, disrupting any and all chances of rest he may have been able to obtain. He brought the small silver object directly in front of his vision, without moving from his position on his back. He sighed, bringing two fingers to the bridge of his nose as he saw Yuffie's name on the caller ID. He didn't have anything against the girl, but he just wasn't in the mood for her right now. He contemplated just letting it ring, but in the end his conscious won and he flipped open the phone.

"Leon! Hiya!" The girl exclaimed before he even had a chance to speak.

Leon winced at the girl's volume, moving the phone away from his ear. He looked at the clock, "Yuffie, you do know it's one in the morning. Please tell me there's a good reason for this phone call."

"Oh but there is! I just came up with the most super fabulous idea!"

Leon opened his mouth to respond but stopped when he heard a loud scream.

"What was that? Who's there Leon?" Yuffie asked.

"LEON!" Cloud screamed from the other side of the house.

The brunette sat up quickly. "I have to go Yuffie."

"No wait! My ide-"Yuffie tried to protest but Leon had already shut the phone, tossing it carelessly onto the bed as he rushed towards the hallway. He met a hysterical Cloud at the door, dripping wet wrapped only in a towel. Leon was momentarily distracted by the droplets glistening on his well developed chest before Cloud's terrified babbling brought him back to reality, blushing as he realized he'd been staring.

"Slow down. What's wrong?" Leon asked putting his hands on the other mans shoulders to steady him.

"I'm _dying_! Three hours as a human and I'm already dying!"

"What?" Leon asked bewildered. "How can you be dying Cloud?"

"Shh! Listen! Did you hear that?"

Leon raised an eyebrow at the blonde. He was about to speak when a warm hand covered his mouth.

"Just listen." Cloud said quietly.

Sure enough, after several moments a low growl sounded from Cloud's midsection.

"Something's inside me! Get it out! Get it out!"

Relief dawned alongside realization as Leon pieced together the situation, struggling to keep his composure and failing miserably. Another look at desperate cerulean eyes set him off. What started out as small chuckles slowly grew until he was practically rolling on the ground.

Cloud frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "What could possibly be funny about this?"

Leon regained control of himself, leaning against the door for support as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "You're not _dying _Cloud and there's nothing wrong with you. Your stomach is sending you a message that you're hungry."

Cloud nodded in understanding, embarrassed at his overreaction. "Oh..."

Leon sighed. "I haven't laughed like that in a long time."

Cloud smiled, happy that even in his embarrassment he was good for _something_.

"Come on, I'll make you something to eat." Leon said leading the way out of the room.

Cloud followed close behind but stopped when he saw the book room. Leon stopped a few paces ahead when he realized the blonde was no longer following.

"What's wrong?" he asked walking back to stand beside Cloud, peering into the room to try and see what was wrong.

"Are these _all_ yours?" Cloud asked inching his way forward, only to pause at the doorway.

"Yea. I've only read about half of them. Past down from some relative I never knew and don't care about." Leon answered nonchalantly. "You like books?"

Cloud shrugged, tearing his eyes away from the books for a moment to rest on Leon. "I never particularly liked to read the books back home but, these are all written by humans right? A human's idea of how humans should be. This is _perfect_. I could learn so much! Then I'd know what's acceptable and what's not acceptable. That way I won't embarrass us in public!"

Leon looked at Cloud, letting it all sink in. His excitement at something so normal interested Leon to say the least. "You're so strange." Leon said patting his head affectionately.

Cloud smiled proudly enjoying the brunette's hand in his hair. Another low growl resounded as if urging the boys toward the kitchen.

"Of course, maybe we should eat first. I've always wanted to try food." Cloud said smiling sheepishly.

Leon shook his head, leading the way to the kitchen.

* * *

Leon sighed as he washed the dishes for the very early morning meal. After several hours of what seemed like unending questions from the blonde they were both well fed and content. Leon chuckled to himself as he remembered the amazed look Cloud gave him as he made the pancakes. _'It's kind of nice...having some in awe of your every action._' He thought putting away the pans.

Everyone who knew Leon would put him right at the bottom of the list of people willing to offer their homes to a stranger in need. But with Cloud things were different. There was something about him that made you want to help, to see how far he could go.

Leon turned off the water, yawning loudly. He made his way up to the bookroom where Cloud had retreated after their meal to work on his humanity to tell him it was about time they went to sleep.

He pushed open the half closed door, stepping into the quiet room. The walls were white and the carpet a deep mahogany color, tall cases filled with books were spread wall-to-wall and large leather chairs gave it a homey feeling. Cloud sat in one of the chairs, two piles of books on either side of him. Leon assumed the smaller pile (consisting of only about three or four books) was literature already finished and the larger pile was literature Cloud planned on reading.

The blonde in question lay asleep, overwhelmed by the night's events and the sheer comfortableness of the room. Leon's naturally hard gaze softened instinctively when he laid eyes on the other boy, who currently looked nothing short of adorable. Leon frowned as he took the book out of sleeping hands, folding the page to save his place. '_I've never used that word to describe __**anything**__ in my life,' _he thought.

He looked at Cloud for a few moments longer before switching off the light. Something was definitely changing in him, and he couldn't say he minded.

* * *

"_How_ do you do that?"

Leon looked up from the pancakes to raise an eyebrow at Cloud who was currently comfortably sitting on the counter, watching him in amazement. "How do I do what?" he asked, flipping the pancakes over.

"That! The flippy thing!" Cloud exclaimed, imitating the motion with his hands.

"You just move the spatula under, lift, and turn. Want to try?" Leon asked, holding the spatula towards the blonde.

Cloud looked at Leon for a moment before turning his gaze to the spatula. Hesitantly, he wrapped his fingers around it as Leon had. Leon wrapped his hand around Clouds and guided the spatula under the pancake before letting go and allowing the other to do the rest.

"See, you got it." Leon said

Cloud looked up, smiling widely. "That's not hard at all!"

With that, Leon couldn't help but smirk, patting the other on his head. "Why don't you finish the rest while I go get dressed and find you something to wear?"

"We're going out?" Cloud asked excitedly

"Yea, you're gonna need clothes and stuff right?"

The blonde grinned again, nodding as he turned back to the pancakes.

* * *

"Uh..."

Leon stabbed at a dead pancake with his fork, trying to force his way through the thick black crust that had accumulated on the surface.

Cloud smiled sheepishly from across the table. "I think I may have...done something wrong."

Leon blinked at Clod before sighing. "It doesn't matter. We'll get something to eat on the way." He said standing up and throwing out the plate of what was supposed to be pancakes.

He brought the dishes to the sink, cleaning up as Cloud dressed. The blonde emerged just as he put away the last plate.

"Do I look normal?" Cloud asked, tugging at the ends of his t-shirt nervously.

Leon nodded. He had picked out his simplest clothes for the blonde, not quite sure of his personal style. A simple black t-shirt and pair of denim jeans seemed sufficient. There was nothing Leon could do about the others glowing blue eyes and impossibly spiky hair and he knew the blonde was sure to turn heads.

"Perfectly normal. You'll blend right in." Leon said grabbing his wallet and heading towards the door.

* * *

"Hey Leon," Cloud said as they exited the small café where they had quickly gotten breakfast. "What does this mean?" He began waving his arms frantically above his head.

Leon's eyes widened and he grabbed the blonde's arm, shaking his head. "Don't do that. Where'd you see that?"

"Over there, the short one was doing it." He said pointing towards a table right in front of the café's window.

Leon groaned slapping his forehead with his hand as he spotted Riku and Sora making their way over to him, a smug smile graced Riku's lips and Sora looked way too excited for his own good.

"Hello Leon." Riku said, smirk widening as the brunettes glare hardened. "Hope we're not interrupting anything.

"Hiya I'm Sora! I work with Leon, nice to meet you." Sora exclaimed grabbing Cloud's hand and shaking it fiercely.

"I'm Cloud." He said, throwing the boy a dazzling smile that only succeeded in making Sora squeal happily.

He turned to Leon with an excited hop. "You've been holding out on us all this time! Secrets are bad, aren't we friends?"

"I haven't been holding anything out from anyone." Leon said through clenched teeth.

"So where we headed?" Sora asked.

"Uhm…I need clothes."

"Wonderful!" He exclaimed linking arms with the blonde and launching into detail about the perfect store, leading him swiftly through the weekend crowd.

The brunette's eyebrow twitched when he realized he was being ignored and he turned his angry gaze towards Riku, whose face told him he was loving this situation.

"Can't you control your boyfriend?"

Riku laughed shrugging. "I guess we'll be joining you then."

Leon scowled, walking ahead. "Whatever."

"But really, who's the blonde? He's pretty cute." Riku said jogging to catch up.

"He's a friend I'm helping out right now." Leon said annoyed.

Riku's smirk only widened. "Yea, ok I understand. I'll leave it that." He winked at Leon before jogging to catch up with the other boys.

Cloud stopped at the door. "Are you coming in Leon?" he asked hopefully.

Leon nodded hurrying over.

* * *

"Thanks so much for everything Leon!" Cloud exclaimed, placing his bags in the corner of his room. "I got to see Hollow Bastion and I got to meet your friends."

Leon merely grunted his reply grabbing his towel and mumbling that he was going to shower.

"Are you angry?" Cloud asked, surprised at the brunette's sudden change in behavior.

Leon sighed. He stopped at the doors to the bathroom, before shaking his head no. He stayed that way, as if debating on whether or not he had something else to say, before entering the bathroom and slamming the door shut.

Cloud winced at the sound, staring at the closed doors for a moment before retreating back to the bookroom.

* * *

Leon sighed, letting the hot water wash away the city grime that had accumulated throughout the day. The fact that he couldn't explain why he was upset frustrated him. He turned off the water, stepping out of the tub. '_It's not like I have anything against them.'_ He thought drying himself off and applying a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

If it was possible, he had wanted to keep Cloud to himself, at least for a little while and for Sora and Riku to just show up and take him away only magnified his frustration.

'_It's not like he's yours or anything.' _Leon scolded himself.

"Duh." The brunette answered to his reflection. He sighed again, resting his head on the mirror. "I guess I owe him an apology."

Slowly Leon made his way toward the book room, stopping when he reached the door. '_I'm sorry.'_ He thought just to test out exactly what words were used. He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. _'I've never said those words to anyone.'_

"I'm sorry."

Leon looked up surprised. "What?" he asked.

Cloud looked up from his book and smiled softly. "You weren't happy and I didn't notice. I'll be more observant next time okay?"

Leon shook his head looking at Cloud in disbelief. "You're incredibly frustrating, you know that?"

* * *

**a|n: **edited May 25, 2009


	3. New World

_**Disclaimer: All characters, most places and things, etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney or whatever. I don't own anything, so don't sue me, okay?**_

**Chapter Three  
**New World

The first part of Leon's body that woke that morning was his nose. He was roused by the scent of alluring food, and the spring morning air, half an hour before he needed to be awake. He lay in his bed for a while, staring at the bumps in his ceiling, and dismissed the smell as an illusion brought forth from his empty stomach.

He got up, heading for the shower to get ready for work, and focused his mind away from the food.

Twenty minutes later, Leon was ready, and the scent was stronger than ever. He cleaned up, making sure everything was neat and in order, until he could deny his protesting stomach no longer. He left the room to investigate the smell.

He walked down the hall, descended the stairs, and stopped in front of the kitchen where the scent seemed to be coming from. He entered, eyes widening in surprise at the sight before him. Set on the table were dishes that looked as if they had been pulled right off the pages of a cookbook.

Every breakfast food one could possibly crave was beautifully displayed, putting to use things Leon didn't even know he had.

Cloud turned from his place at the sink, putting away the last pan.

"Good morning Leon. I made breakfast!" he exclaimed, smiling.

Leon's eyes went from Cloud, to the table, and back.

"Wow…"

Cloud sat down, "Take a seat! Try!" and Leon obeyed.

"Where'd you learn this?"

"I found three cookbooks and went from there."

Under the blonde's hopeful gaze, he sampled the meal, taking his time chewing. Cloud began to fidget impatiently.

"It's good." Leon said finally.

Cloud beamed, picking up his own fork, and Leon couldn't help but smile- but quickly disguised it behind a cough.

"I read a lot of books last night. Humans are a lot more interesting than they seem."

Leon nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. "If you run out of books to read, there's a library two streets down that you can go to. It's a really big, old building; you can't miss it. It's always empty, so you can go there to read in peace too."

Cloud smiled. "Maybe we should stop by today?"

Leon shook his head. "You can, but I have to go to work."

"Work?" Cloud asked, "Like building railroads and stuff?"

"Not quite- at the video store we passed. Remember, Riku pointed it out?"

Leon saw the blonde's face fall.

"Oh…" Cloud said softly. "I forgot."

Leon sighed at the look on the blonde's face. It was almost enough to make him say something, but one look at the clock told him he needed to leave.

"I'll be home at five. How about we meet in the park at one for lunch?"

And Cloud was smiling again. "Sure."

Leon stood awkwardly for a moment, unable to find any words, or actions, to convey the feeling that had overwhelmed him at the moment. He settled for a deep breath and a pat on the other man's shoulder as he walked past him to the door.

For the first time, in all his working life, Leon was having a hard time leaving his house.

'Weird.'

-----

Riku hummed to himself as he put away the month's few files. An upside of barely having any business was having barely any paperwork. A weekend's rest, and two cups of coffee later, his attitude was upbeat and optimistic.

He burst through the back doors and into the front of the shop.

"Good Mor- whoa."

He stopped, staring at the glum faces of his two employees.

The air was thick and heavy, weighing them down. Leon stood behind the counter, elbows on it, leaning his chin on his hand, and glaring at the door that hadn't opened at all that day. Sora sat cross-legged in one of the aisles, dusting off rows of movies lazily, as if his limbs were sticks of jelly. Every two movies he let out a pathetic sigh.

"Oh come on! What's this? Look alive! How are we going to get any customers with workers dead like this? Where's Yuffie? She'd have energy."

Sora shrugged, not even turning to look at him.

All three men perked up as the bell on top of the door rang, signaling an entrance. A young man in his early twenties approached the counter, and Riku put on his award-winning business-smile.

"Good morning Sir! How may we serve you today?"

"Huh?" the man asked, having momentarily lost himself in an ancient _Misery_ poster. "Oh yeah- do you guys have change for a fifty?"

Riku's smile changed to clenched teeth, going from charming to scary in the blink of an eye and struggling to keep a scowl off his face. He turned to Leon.

"I don't even think there's fifty dollars in the register," Leon said, crossing his arms.

The man sighed. "All right then," and was gone.

Riku could feel himself deflating until he was just the empty elastic of a video store owner, sprawled out on the counter.

"I should've been a doctor," he mumbled.

----

"Work," Cloud said, testing out the words as he packed away his and Leon's lunch. "Job. Occupation."

It was still early, but he wanted to check out the library that Leon had described to him. A building filled with books and books; he felt the blood rushing to his face just thinking about it. He grabbed their lunches and headed out the front door, sighing contently as he was met with a cool spring breeze.

'Such nice weather…if only Leon didn't need to work,' he thought, walking up the block slowly and taking in the scenery. He stopped every so often to examine a building, a bench, or a tree.

The streets were all but deserted; an old woman feeding the birds here, a group of college students frequenting a café there.

"Everyone must be at work," he said out loud, looking at the huge clock in the center of the square.

He arrived at the library faster than he expected to, unable to miss it, just like Leon had said. It was huge, an aging Romanesque building with beautiful windows stained with scenes from various pieces of literature. It was then, upon examining those windows, that he saw the small "Help Wanted" sign located in the corner of the front door's window.

He felt a smile pull at his lips. '_If I worked, I could help Leon pay for some of the things we need, and learn more about humans_.'

And with that, he pushed the front doors open.

----

Leon glared at the clock, urging the second hand forward. Idleness in such large doses could not be good for anyone's mind.

'_Maybe that's why Yuffie's the way she is_,' he thought. '_Where is Yuffie anyway?_'

He wouldn't admit it anywhere outside of his own mind, but without the young girl around, things were dull. So dull it was driving him insane.

The clock finally reached one, and he quickly left from behind the counter.

"I'm taking lunch," he said.

Riku nodded, and Sora merely shuffled pathetically to occupy the spot Leon had forsaken.

He clocked out, and left the small shop, taking a deep breath to enjoy his temporary freedom. He quickly crossed the street, using all of his self-control to keep him from sprinting away from the video store. He reached the park, narrowing his eyes as he did a quick scan of the area for his roommate.

He quickly spotted blonde spikes protruding from a nearby bush. Leon walked over to find Cloud crouching by the pond, watching several ducks swim by.

"Hey," Leon said.

Cloud smiled, standing up. "Hey Leon, how's work?"

"Don't ask," Leon mumbled, taking a seat on the grass.

"Hard work?" Cloud asked, unpacking their lunch.

"No work," and Leon sighed.

Cloud took a deep breath as he watched the brunette eat. "I want a job."

Leon promptly began to choke. "Why would you possibly want that?" he asked, taking a gulp of water to save himself.

"I want to work," Cloud replied, smiling.

"Why? You don't need to do that."

"Yes I do! I'm a human now, and humans work to pay for bills and food and clothes and to meet new people."

Leon was quiet for a moment, carefully chewing his food to prevent a repeat of the earlier episode. He sighed. Cloud was right, and he _did_ have to live like a normal human now. '_Who am I to tell him not to? Not like I can support us both on my salary._'

"But what would you _do_?" Leon asked, sounding a bit more skeptical than he wanted to.

Cloud's grin broadened as he pulled out an application he had picked up from the library earlier. "Everyone there was really nice. The head librarian already took the help wanted sign out of the window. She says I can start tomorrow, but they need the application for their files."

Leon looked at the application, shaking his head. "I suppose…if that's what you want."

"YAY!" the blond exclaimed, latching onto the other in a hug. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

Leon pushed the blonde away, blushing madly.

He coughed. "Uh…guys don't do that in public places…erm…at all…or…yeah."

Cloud pulled back. "What do we do then?"

Leon thought, trying to find the appropriate gesture, and then he put out his hand. Cloud looked at him quizzically.

"We shake hands."

"Oh, okay then." the blond said, grabbing the brunette's hand and shaking vigorously. Several minutes of this passed, until Leon thought his eyes would rattle all the way behind his brain.

"Uh…Cloud?" he said.

"Yes Leon?" Cloud asked, still shaking.

"You can stop now."

---

**a|n:** edited May 25, 2009


	4. Set In Motion

_**Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I **_**don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?**

**Chapter Four  
**_Set in Motion_

"Now, there's letters and numbers and decimals and shapes - first floor is split into five cases: A through E, F through J, K through O, P through T, and U through Z. Second floor is split into four: triangle, square, circle, and rectangle. But be careful, because sometimes the squares look like rectangles and rectangles look like squares. All information can be found on the spine of the book. Understand?" Quistis said, taking a deep breath after finishing her long and speedy spiel.

Cloud smiled brightly, "Gotcha."

Quistis stared at his happy face dumbfounded. In her five years as head librarian, she had delivered this speech many times and got many looks afterwards. A happy smile had _never_ been one of them. "Are you sure? You seriously got all that?"

He nodded.

Quistis narrowed her eyes. "All right then, why don't you put these back?" she asked pushing a cart nearly overflowing with book towards him.

"Sure," he said grabbing the cart and wheeling it away.

She turned to return to her office, only to come face to face with her very giddy employees, practically floating after the blonde with hearts in their eyes. "Oh, get back to work!" she exclaimed rolling her eyes. "I swear, you'd think they've never seen a guy before," she muttered to herself before disappearing into her office.

---

"I'm baaack!" Yuffie exclaimed as she burst through the back doors. "Missed me?" she asked, sitting on the counter.

Leon raised an eyebrow. "Was I supposed to?" he asked, although internally cheering for the girls return - another day like yesterday and he was sure to go insane.

"And where were you yesterday? I called only **a million** times! Sora thought you were dead somewhere," Riku asked, emerging from the back to lean on the doorway and await her explanation.

"Did not! You were the worried one!" Sora exclaimed from his place behind a shelf. He examined it thoroughly before kicking it over.

"_What _are you _doing_?" Yuffie asked bewildered.

"I'm making a mess," Sora said dryly before picking up the now empty shelf.

"_Why_?" Riku asked, eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

"So I can clean it up," the brunette stated matter-of -factly. "It gives me something to do."

Leon pinched the bridge of his nose and Riku merely sighed.

"Anyway..." Yuffie said, brightening up again. "I just may have come up with a plan to bring in some customers!"

"I'm listening," Riku said.

"Well, **you** are definitely _not_ ugly," she said, pointing for emphasis, "and neither is Leon or Sora. In fact, you three are as far away from ugly as possible."

"And... your point is?" Leon asked.

"Ugh! Boys are so dense!" Yuffie exclaimed, sitting back on the counter. "You use your sex appeal to charm and lure in the high school girls and house wives. Then, when the place is overflowing with females the guys are bound to come."

Leon sighed, returning his attention to the clock. "Should've known better than to expect Yuffie to actually have a good idea," he mumbled.

"No... No, hold on a minute. I think she may be on to something," Riku said.

"What?!" Sora and Leon exclaimed in unison. "Riku, you can't be serious."

"Why not? It won't hurt to try it. It's not like any of us came up with any better ideas."

"That's the spirit!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Now here's the plan..."

----

"I'm taking lunch!" Leon exclaimed as he headed out the store.

The weather was nice, spring was ending and there were little hints of summer all over the place. For some reason, the cool breeze and the bright shining sun made him think of Cloud and his feet took him to a bakery different than the one he usually frequented. He entered the small, modestly decorated bakery, passing by the cake section before turning back to it. He surveyed the rows of sweets he'd usually not pay attention to, before he spotted a small white cake, about enough for one person, decorated with red strawberries.

"May I help you sir?" the young lady behind the counter asked, after finally working up the courage to help the very angry customer.

Leon bit his lip, pointing to the cake. "I'll take one of those...please."

The waitress smiled, "Ah, my personal favorite! It's our best. Is it to stay or to go?"

"To go," Leon said with one last unsure glance at the cake.

The waitress disappeared for a moment, returning with a small white box held together with red ribbon. Leon looked at the box approvingly before handing the waitress some bills and leaving.

'_That was stupid. You're stupid Leon. You don't even know if he likes sweets,'_ Leon thought as he hurried up the block, speeding towards the library. _'Who wants cake for lunch? If you were going to be stupid you might as well have bought him a sandwich'_

Leon scrunched up his nose, shaking the berating thoughts from his mind. He paused at a department store, looking at his reflection in the window. "What is going on with you, Leon?" he asked the reflection, pausing for an answer he knew wouldn't come. "Get a hold of yourself."

About three blocks and several deep breaths later, he reached the library, pausing again in front of the closed door. He narrowed his eyes as he attempted to come up with something, _anything_ to explain his sudden drop by.

_'See?'_ the voice sneered yet again. '_Stupid. Won't you see him at home? Give it to him then.'_

But before he could stop himself he was pulling open the door and entering the well lit building. He surveyed the area for wild blonde spikes.

"May I help you?" a young red-headed girl asked, placing an armful of books on a nearby table.

"Uhm... I'm looking for a new employee here, Cloud?"

"Oh, I know him!" she exclaimed. "Tall? Blonde hair and blue eyes?"

Leon nodded.

"Go up the stairs and turn to the left. He should be right there."

"Thank you," he mumbled, heading for the stairs. Sure enough, there was Cloud staring intently at the spine of a book. Leon felt a small smile tugging on the corners of his mouth at the sight of the blonde concentrating so hard.

"Working hard?" he asked, slowly approaching.

Cloud turned, face lighting up as he laid eyes on his roommate. "You bet! I'm almost done here."

Leon nodded, leaning against the table to wait.

"I'm really glad I tried out this work thing, Leon. People are actually pretty nice. A bunch of my coworkers even made me lunches... I'm not sure I can eat it all, but I'll try," Cloud said as he re-shelved the book and grabbed another one.

Leon sat up a bit when he heard this, noticing for the first time the stack of boxes at the edge of the table. He also noticed the females all around the floor, taking time out of whatever it was they were doing to throw glances at the oblivious Cloud. He felt a tinge of jealousy and possessiveness tug at his chest. He said nothing as he watched the blonde restacking the books. He watched the muscles in his back pull together and apart as he moved his arms, trying to picture the wings that had once been there. So lost was he in his thoughts that he didn't realize the pile was getting smaller until he found himself staring into deep blue pools. Leon cleared his throat, looking away.

"All done?" he asked.

"Yep," the blonde said, smiling. "Hey... what's that?" he asked, pointing to the white box.

"Oh... uh... a cake. I figured you might be hungry, but I wasn't sure what you'd want so... uh... it looks like you have enough food all ready, so maybe you can just bring it home and eat it then?" Leon finally finished, mentally kicking himself for rambling so long.

Cloud smiled, taking the box in his hands. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "Smells really good!"

Leon smirked, patting him on the head. "I better get back to work. I'll see you at home."

The blonde watched Leon's retreating form, fighting the urge to call him back. He wasn't sure _why_ exactly, but it felt just a little colder with the other man gone.

"Ahem."

Cloud looked up to see his coworkers, Kairi and Larxene, hovering over him with big knowing smiles.

"So who was that, eh?" Kairi asked with a glint in her eye.

"Huh? Oh, you mean Leon?"

"Leon eh? Boyfriend?" Larxene asked, moving behind the counter

"What?!" Cloud exclaimed. He could feel the blood rushing to his face. "No! We're friends!"

"With benefits?" Larxene asked, raising an eyebrow.

"NO! Just friends!"

Kairi and Larxene exchanged glances.

"Yeah... sure," Kairi said, making air quotes. "'Friends'."

"Working hard?" Larxene mimicked, acting out the scene with two books. She held up the Cloud book. "You bet! How about you let me work you hard, you –"

"LARXENE!" Cloud exclaimed, his blush deepening. "That's inappropriate."

----

"Come on, Olette, we're gonna be late!" cried Selphie, a local high school girl, as she ran in a vain attempt to get to class before the last bell.

Olette, who had already been late three times this month, complied, running as fast as she could only to crash into the back of her suddenly immobile friend. "Why'd you sto-oh."

In front of a crowd of women, leaning seductively against the back wall was a beautiful boy with spiky brown hair and bright blue eyes. The world seemed to stop spinning as the other boy turned toward them, silver hair moving in slow motion as he lifted his hand, brandishing a flyer.

"Rent movies? Come to my store," he said quietly, his voice husky.

Somewhere near the front of the crowd, several women fainted.

---

**a|n:** edited May 25, 2009  
changed other girl to Olette, that last scene always makes me giggle :)


	5. JUST roomates

_**Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I **_**don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?**

**Chapter Five  
**_JUST Roommates_

_There was fire. Bright and angry as it ravaged through the town, destroying everything with its touch; the smell of ash and blood enveloped him as he stood in the middle, gazing in shock and confusion at the scene before him. Bodies, homes, business, all broken and misplaced among the crumbling town…_

_'This can't be...' he thought._

_He caught a glimpse of silver hair before he felt the pressure of another body pressed into his back, large elegant hands planted themselves on his shoulders as black feathers fell slowly to the ground._

_"This is your last chance. All you have to do is say yes, and I can make this all go away."_

_He pulled away; his hands shook as he turned to face him._

_The other smiled softly shaking his head._

_"Suit yourself," he said before turning to look over his shoulder, throwing one last smirk at the other before crying, "I found him! He's over here."_

Cloud sat up violently, clutching a hand to his sweat soaked chest. After regulating his breathing, he sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. How many nights had passed since he had last gotten a peaceful night's sleep? He tossed his messy blankets to the side, getting up and stretching while glancing at his clock. It was nearly eleven. '_Missed again_," he thought, straightening up and heading toward the bathroom. For the past month it seemed the two boys had been playing a game of hide-and-go seek. Their schedules were rarely ever the same, and it was near miraculous when they got a day off simultaneously. The constant running around had left them time for no more than five words to each other a day.

Cloud turned off the water, placing his tooth brush away. _'Work is good but...it's kind of lonely,_' he thought to himself. And just like that he got an idea.

----

Leon attempted to pull his shirt closed only to have his hands slapped away by Yuffie.

"Ugh, Yuffie, is this really necessary? I mean, we're already getting more than enough customers." Leon said, gesturing to the _line_ of women standing outside of the video store, waiting for it to open. There was something about the way that they pressed their faces to the glass that made Leon feel _very_ uneasy, and the looks in their eyes did not say 'we love movies'.

Yuffie rolled her eyes, placing a hand on her chin as she stepped back to give him a once over, shook her head and unbuttoned another button on his already dangerously revealing white, button down shirt. "Yea, alright, we have their interest. Now we just have to keep it."

"And _this_ is supposed to keep their interest? These clothes don't even fit right!" Leon exclaimed, grabbing at the belt loops of his jeans in a vain attempt to pull up his pants.

"They're called low rise for a reason, Leon." Yuffie said, stepping back to look at him once more. "Perfect! Sora, Riku; please stop whatever it is you're doing back there, without telling me what it is, and come out here for final inspection."

Several moments passed before a very disgruntled Riku emerged from the back, followed by a very pink Sora. They were all dressed in similar outfits, although Riku seemed the most comfortable, even volunteering to leave his shirt completely open.

Yuffie smiled, clapping her hands together. "Perfect!"

Riku smiled, nodding to her before flipping the 'closed' sign to open and opening the glass door. He moved to the side just in time to avoid being trampled by the group of women as they rushed to enter the store. His chest swelled with pride as he recognized several regulars.

'_Regulars_,' he thought with a smile. _'Who would have thought?_'

----

Cloud hummed as packed away the simple lunch he prepared. He checked the clock: 12:01. There was just enough time for him to make it to the video store in time for Leon's lunch break. He placed the few dishes he'd used in the sink and turned on the water. He reached in to grab the sponge only to pull his hand back with a hiss. The water was boiling hot, leaving his hand red and burning.

Burning hot…just like _that _time. Fragments of his dream fought their way to the front of his mind, dragging memories of unpleasant times with them. The temperature was the same then, wasn't it? Boiling hot, leaving him red and burning with no voice at all.

He shook his head, turning the water off with more force then necessary. _'That's over now Cloud_,' he thought to himself. '_This is a brand new life_.'

He abandoned the dishes in the sink, grabbing the bag and leaving the house swiftly.

----

"He's so cute!" the girl whispered to her friend.

"I know!" she responded. "I've been coming here every day just to see him. I've rented so many movies it's not even funny."

"Does he have a girlfriend?" the first girl asked.

"I don't think so."

"Then go for it!" she exclaimed pushing her friend towards the spiky haired employee with the bright blue eyes.

Sora looked up from the movie in his hand, turning toward the customer. "May I help you?"

The girl grabbed his hand in a moment of excitement. "You don't know me and I don't know you, but I think you're really cute and maybe we can go out sometime?" she said nervously, in one breath.

Sora rubbed the back of his head, cringing a bit. "Uh...sorry, but..."

Riku rushed over, grabbing Sora closer to him protectively. "MINE!" he growled, glaring at the girl. Her and her friend exchanged looks before rushing out the store, embarrassed.

"YUFFIE!" Riku whined. "Your plan sucks!"

"Ah, pipe down," she said, taking a sip of a can of soda. "So a few girls hit on your boyfriend; you're getting customers, aren't you?"

"Yea, but..."

"Have a nice day," Leon said handing the customer her video.

Yuffie spat out her drink, choking on her shock, and the other two merely stared at Leon, dumbfounded.

Leon's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "What?"

Yuffie grabbed Leon's face, pressing the back of her hand to his forehead. "Are you sick? Who are you and what have you done with Leon?!"

"Seriously," Riku said, wide eyes never leaving his employees face. "I know I said customer service was key, but...I've grown to not expect it from you."

Leon rolled his eyes, chuckling a bit.

Sora grabbed Yuffie's arm. "H-h-he's even _laughing_ now, Yuffie!" he stuttered, frightened at the sudden good mood.

Riku narrowed his eyes. "If I didn't know better…" he said, crossing his arms over his chest and eyeing the other man suspiciously.

"I'd say you'd found a bright spot!" Sora exclaimed, remembering their shopping trip from a few weeks back.

"What?" Leon exclaimed, glaring at Sora.

The ding of the stores doorbell alerted the workers to a new customer. Cloud entered, looking around, slightly lost, before his eyes rested on the group at the register.

"Leon!" he called, letting the door close behind him.

"Eh?" Yuffie exclaimed, glancing from the approaching blonde to Leon and back. "Who's that?"

Sora smirked, "Leon's roommate. **Just** his roommate."

Yuffie smiled, nodding as she understood Sora's smirk as him not believing it for a second. "Roommate," she said winking. "Gotcha."

Cloud reached the desk, opening his mouth to say something to Leon but was interrupted by Yuffie grabbing his hand.

"Hiya! I'm Yuffie, greatest ninja ever and oldest friend of Leon. Pleased to meet you," she said, ignoring Leon's snort.

Cloud smiled back, shaking her hand, "I'm Leon's roommate, Cloud. It's very nice to meet you too."

"So," Yuffie said, nudging him, "what exactly is your relation-ow!" Yuffie exclaimed, grabbing her head where Leon's elbow has "accidentally" hit it on his way past.

"I'm taking lunch." he said, glaring at his three coworkers.

He grabbed his jacket from the door and Cloud by the elbow, practically running out of the store.

"They seem fun," Cloud said with a smile as he unpacked their lunch onto the wooden table in the park.

Leon grunted in response, pulling his jacket tighter around him as the wind picked up a bit. "You know, Cloud," he said taking a seat across from the other boy. "As much as I enjoy, and appreciate, your cooking, I'm beginning to think it's getting a little too cold for us to keep eating outside."

Cloud shrugged with a smile, sliding a thermos filled with tea over to him. "You're probably right. I just figured we haven't seen each other in a while so I might as well surprise you."

Leon found himself smiling back at the other boy, despite his attempts to suppress the gentle tugging. He took a sip in an attempt to hide it.

"So, how long have you been hiding your smiles, Leon?"

Leon nearly choked at the blonde's sudden question.

Cloud laughed, "Humans are funny. They want to be happy, they spend their lives trying to become happy, but they'd sooner show indifference to laughter." He un-wrapped their meal, taking his time unfolding the corners of the tinfoil. "Personally," he said, eyes alternating between meeting Leon's and focusing on the task in front of him, "I prefer you happy."

Leon shook his head, lifting the thermos to his lips again, but thinking better of it, allowing the blonde to see a shadow of a smirk on his face. He hadn't realized how much he missed spending time with the other.

Cloud cheered mentally; they were getting somewhere. '_Hopefully, by the end of this lifetime I'll have him laughing out loud_,' he thought with a smile.

"In regards to the problem of weather, we should probably start eating in actual restaurants now," Leon said as he took another drink of the tea.

"Like going on dates?"

Leon spit the tea out in shock, succumbing to a coughing fit that prevented him from talking.

"I'm sorry!" Cloud exclaimed, handing Leon a napkin and patting him on his back. "That's what Kairi and Larxene called it whenever I told them about us going out together. I just figured that's what they were. Should I not have said that? Is it wrong?"

Leon's eyebrow twitched. '_I'm going to kill those girls_' he thought, annoyed.

"I wouldn't call it a date," Leon said, feeling quite awkward. "More like two friends, uhm...hanging out."

Cloud frowned. "Is there that much of a difference?"

Leon sighed; this was difficult. "A date is when two people who are interested in each other romantically go out to better know one another. Hanging out is when friends simply have fun together with no romantic feelings involved at all."

Cloud nodded. "So, when we go out for lunch like this, it's 'hanging out'?" he stated, looking to Leon for confirmation.

The brunette nodded, glad the other was getting it.

"Can they be dates instead?" the blonde asked.

Leon's eyes widened in shock as the blonde steadily turned different shades of pink.

'_This…can't be happening._'

----

**a|n**: edited May 25, 2009

I am so on a roll! ha ha


	6. Impulse

_**Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I **_**don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?**

**Chapter Six  
**_Impulse_

Leon couldn't breathe.

He was drowning, suffocating, being crushed by the weight of his own stupidity. For what seemed like the millionth time since the event happened, Leon found himself running through the scene of last week, picking apart everything he had and hadn't done in his mind. _'I really am an idiot,' _he thought.

_"Can they be dates instead?" the blonde asked. _

_Leon's eyes widened in shock as the blonde steadily turned different shades of pink._

_He tried to form a coherent sentence, but the thoughts running through his head were anything but comprehensible. He felt his own face heating up against his will as he struggled to answer the question._

_"Uh...Leon, did I say something wrong?" Cloud asked, tilting to his head to the side and squinting his eyes, as if he were watching an interesting documentary on the discovery channel rather than having a conversation with his roommate. _

_"I was just wondering," he said, calmly continuing to eat as if nothing mind-numbing had happened at all. "Like...is it possible, or are there regulations on that sort of thing."_

_All the blood rushed straight to Leon's face in embarrassment as he realized he had not only severely overreacted, but nearly had a panic attack in response to a simple question._

_"Uhm...uh...yea, I suppose it's possible," he said, attempting to regain his cool._

_Cloud surveyed Leon intensely, putting his fork down and folding his hands over each other. He leaned forward, concerned. _

_"Are you alright Leon?" he asked. "You're __**really**__ red."_

Leon groaned, burying his face in the book he was reading. The pages muffled his frustrated scream.

He heard a light chuckling, and slowly lowered the book, cringing as he saw a very amused looking Cloud standing in the doorway.

The blonde smiled widely, raising his hand to wave.

"Hi."

Leon scowled, throwing the book across the coffee table. "What?" he snapped.

"Mmm… nothing. You make very interesting facial expressions." Cloud responded, handing a cup over to the other man before settling on the other couch and picking up the book Leon had been attempting to focus on.

"What're you reading?"

He opened it, chose a random part and began reading.

"Which way shall I fly, infinite wrath and infinite despair?  
Which way I fly is hell; myself am hell;  
And in the lowest deep a lower deep, still threat'ning to devour me,  
Opens wide,  
To which the hell I suffer seems  
A heaven..."

There was something about the way the blondes lips moved as he read that held Leon's attention. His voice was soft and soothing, with a slight tremble, like a spider spinning it's captured prey in silk lining. Leon liked the way his eyes always had a sort of wetness to them, as if he was always about cry, even when he was smiling.

He liked that he allowed himself to smile at his widest, or frown at his largest; that he'd laugh when he was happy or cry when he was sad… that he wasn't human at all and, at the same time, more human than anyone else he'd ever met. He liked how he cooked and read and walked and worked and asked questions unashamed and without holding back with child-like curiosity, yet sage-like understanding. It was almost as if he'd knew the answers before he asked the questions, but asked anyway, just to hear what everyone else thought.

"I don't like this story," Cloud said, closing the book and wrinkling his nose at the cover. "You have weird taste, Leon."

Leon shrugged, taking a sip of his quickly cooling coffee. He honestly couldn't tell the blonde what the book was about let alone its title. He hadn't been reading it so much as releasing his frustrations out on its worn spine.

And yet, as he narrowed his eyes at the blonde, he couldn't help but agree. He snatched the book back from his roommate so that, at least, he would have something else to focus on other than the eyes that were much too blue and lips that were much too inviting.

As wave after wave of realization dawned on him, with all the salty sting of the ocean, he felt as if his heart was stopping and starting all at the same time.

'_I really do have very weird taste.'_

_

* * *

  
_

"Hmm... rabbit?"

"No, that looks more like a frog."

"Eh, I don't think so. Look at the ears right there."

Cloud sighed, rolling over to his side. "We're really bored, aren't we?"

Leon tore his eyes away from the animal shaped bumps in his ceiling to glance at Cloud.

As if to answer the blondes question for him there was the startling sound of metal against glass as his phone began to vibrate on the table, moving a few inches forward. Leon caught it just as it was about to fall off and flipped it open.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Leoooooonnn! Hiya! What's up? Doing anything special tonight?" Yuffie asked, her voice much too loud for the phone's speaker.

Leon cringed, moving it away from his ear. "Uh… No, not really... Why?"

"Well, Riku can get us tickets to the premier of 'The XIII Order'! Something about a friend of a friend or something, but whatever; bring Cloud and meet us at the theatre at seven, okay? Bye!"

And without waiting for an answer, she hung up, leaving Leon to glare at his phone in annoyance. He had to admit, it would probably be a lot more productive than trying to find shapes in the misshapen plaster covering the ceiling. He turned his gaze back to his roommate, who seemed to actually be trying to see that rabbit.

"Uhm... Do you want to see a movie with Yuffie and the others tonight?" he asked, sitting up and stretching.

Cloud smiled brightly. "YES! Something to do! Finally," he exclaimed, sitting up. "When is it?"

"Seven," Leon responded, both of them glancing at the clock at the same time.

It was only 2:30.

Cloud sighed, dropping back into his previous position.

Leon stood up abruptly, pocketing his phone and going to the wardrobe to grab both of their coats.

Cloud looked at him, one eyebrow raised in confusion.

Leon tossed a coat onto the lazing blonde.

"Put on your jacket; let's go do something."

* * *

"Visit Radiant Garden and experience Hollow Bastion's rich, romantic history," Cloud read, flipping over the printed flyer that came with the tickets, staring in awe at the beautiful stone castle depicted on the paper. His eyes darted from the paper to the real life place in front of him, mouth opening and closing as he struggled to form an understandable sentence.

Leon smirked, obviously proud with himself. "I had a feeling you'd like it."

The blonde beamed, shoving his cold hands into his pockets before they joined the rest of their tour group.

"Have you been here before?" Cloud asked, mesmerized by the cobblestone roads and the booth after booth of street venders.

"Uh huh," Leon said, glancing at his watch to affirm that he was correctly budgeting their time. "I used to come all the time with my parents when I was younger. Then we just... stopped."

Cloud looked up at the other man, some unidentifiable emotion lingering behind his bright blue eyes. He looked as if he were about to say something, but the loud, booming voice through a megaphone stole everyone's attention.

"Hello all, and welcome to Radiant Castle! I am Ansem, and I'll be your tour guide today. Now, if you'll follow me through these gates we can begin our tour of the castle."

Cloud smiled at Leon, tugging on his sleeve to bring them both into the line.

The tour guide was speaking, but the majority of the group had wandered off by their own devices, more interested in the souvenirs and tourist gimmicks the locals had set up than the "rich romantic history" of Hollow Bastion. Cloud hadn't lost his enthusiasm, however, and he had fallen into an intense conversation with Ansem, hanging onto his every word like a child.

"Now, you see, everything from the outskirts of Hollow Bastion to the edges of Radiant Castle used to be Radiant Garden. The king ruled over the land with the key blade master at his side, keeping peace. But then the darkness came."

"Darkness?" Cloud asked, eyes widening as he seemed to fall deeper into the story.

Leon rolled his eyes, he'd heard this story thousands of times and it only got more predictable and less believable each time.

"Yes, darkness. Forces called the Heartless attempted to take over, stealing everyone's hearts so they would become empty shells, blindly following the dark; but, the key blade master fought back with light. For years and years and years they fought; thousands were lost, yet thousands were saved."

Clouds eyes widened. "Who won?"

"Well, we're here aren't we? Who do you think?"

Cloud sighed in relief, smiling again.

"But, the darkness did great damage to the world. They made almost half the kingdom barren, desolate. That's the half you live in – Hollow Bastion. Some say, you know, that the darkness is still there… lurking. Waiting for just the right time and then-"

Leon realized he was feeling colder and colder as the time went by, and Ansem the tour guide was starting to get a very scary look in his eyes. "Ok, time to go," Leon exclaimed, grabbing the blonde's hand and pulling him away. "Thanks for the history lesson, but we have other engagements." "_Weirdo_,"he mumbled under his breath once he was sure the strange man wasn't following them.

"We have a little bit of time left; why don't we get something to eat?" Leon asked, looking at Cloud.

The blonde was in his own world, however, his eyes downcast, focusing on their still intertwined fingers.

Leon quickly pulled his hand away, shoving it into his pocket and beginning to walk faster so he was always a foot ahead of the other.

"'Cold out..."

About a half hour and a cup of hot chocolate later, the blonde had fully recovered and was now conversing a mile a minute.

"I had no idea Hollow Bastion had such a rich history! This place is really cool, Leon. Thanks for taking me here."

Leon shrugged, keeping his gaze trained out the window rather than straight ahead. "It was nothing; it's really not that great. Half that stuff is just a story to rope in tourists anyway."

Cloud frowned, pulling his mug into his hands to keep them warm. "Still, some of it has to be true."

"Light and darkness fighting it out for control of the world? Yeah, not very plausible," Leon said, rolling his eyes.

"Yet still more plausible than angels falling out of the sky," Cloud said seriously, more serious than he had ever been before. Too serious.

Leon turned to look at the blonde, to try and capture the expression he was wearing on his face and lock it away so he could pick it apart and try to make sense of it later. But it was gone as soon as it came and he was smiling again.

"I can see where some of it is... misconstrued."

Leon shrugged. "I guess so," he mumbled, leaning back in his seat as the waitress brought their dishes out.

"Hey… what's that sound?" Cloud asked, straining his neck to look out the window.

"What's what sound?" Leon replied, raising an eyebrow.

"That ringing. Are those bells?"

"Oh, those are the Paopou bells; they're famous here in Radiant Garden," the waitress said, smiling. "You're new here aren't you? You're friend probably don't notice them 'cause he lived here too long."

"You can hear them in Hollow Bastion, too, right? I've heard them before," Cloud said.

The waitress beamed, nodding. "Don't tell me you don't know the story of the Paopou bells?"

"Here we go, more stories," Leon grumbled.

Cloud shushed him, shaking his head.

"Well, legend says, if you kiss the person who means the most to you before the bells stop ringing, your destinies will become intertwined," she said, winking at the two boys before scooping up their menus and heading back into the busy diner.

Leon rolled his eyes. "Some luck you have," he said, "falling into the most superstitious place on the planet."

* * *

"THAT WAS SO COOL! He was like _pow! _and she was like _bam!_ and it was like _ping_ and then they were like RAAAAAA and I was like _wooaahh_!" Yuffie exclaimed, jumping up and down as she mimicked the moves of the characters.

Leon rolled his eyes, "Relax Yuffie. It was just a movie, a lame movie about guys in capes."

"Aww, don't ruin her fun, Leon; everyone's entitled to their own opinions," Riku said, arm draped loosely over the shoulders of a half-asleep Sora. "I'm gonna call us a cab; he doesn't look like he can stay awake for much longer. I'll see you guy's tomorrow." The silver haired boy then propped his boyfriend up against a wall and pulled out his cell phone.

"Did you think it was a good movie, Cloud?" Yuffie asked.

The blonde smiled, nodding his head. "It was very action-packed. I especially liked the characters in the final scene."

Yuffie gave him a blank look.

"The villains," Leon said, rolling his eyes at her idiocy.

She blinked.

Cloud cleared his throat. "Um...the guys that went RAAAAAAAA!"

"OH!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Me too!"

Leon pinched the bridge of his nose. "Good night Yuffie; we'll see you tomorrow," he said, turning to walk in the direction of the house.

Cloud waved goodbye before following his roommate down the street.

They walked in silence, save for the sound of their chattering teeth. Cloud occupied himself by breathing out heavily and examining the mist it left in the air.

"Did you have fun today?" Leon asked quietly, looking at the blonde from the corners of his eyes.

Cloud nodded. "Tons! Thanks for bringing me, Leon. I learned a lot and got closer to your friends."

Leon felt himself smiling, a genuine smile, but that smile soon slipped away as he rested his eyes on the other man's face. There were those eyes and those lips, much too inviting again. His near frozen hands clenched into fists in his pockets, strained by the extensive excursion of his self control.

"That tour guy was kind of strange though; I think he was part of some darkness cult or something. He tried to slip me a pamphlet at one point, really inconspicuously, but I pretended not to notice and, you know, the movie wasn't that good, but Yuffie was so happy so I had to-"

Clouds words were cut off as he felt a pair of cool lips pressed against his warm ones. His eyes widened for a moment, before Leon pulled back, eyes clouded with some foreign emotion.

"I...hear the bells," Leon said softly, suddenly finding it hard to breathe.

Sure enough, just as the clock had struck a new hour, the sound of the Paopou bells were heard throughout the town, reaching them even in Hollow Bastion.

Cloud's blood rushed straight to his face and his eyes darted to the ground as Leon moved forward to press their lips together again. His mind was a jumble of thoughts and theories and fragments of the lessons he had learned. He tried to process what was going on, but his mind worked much slower than his body. Taking on a mind of its own, it molded to fit with Leon's. His arms rose to wrap around Leon's neck as the others hands slid to his lower back, pushing them both together even closer as the two pairs of lips moved so naturally in sync, as if they existed only to touch.

In the distance, the soft melody of the bells continued on. They rang on the hour after the gongs of the hour, just like any old grandfather clock; yet here, on this deserted street in the midst of an early winter night, Leon found himself wanting to believe in legends.

* * *

**Disclaimer 2** : _The book excerpt read above is from John Miltons __**Paradise Lost**__ [book iv line 73 to be exact, I take no credit for it._

**a|n: **edited May 26, 2009


	7. Surprise Encounter

_**Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?**_

**Chapter Seven  
**_Surprise Encounter_

They walked home in silence, Cloud leading the way a few feet ahead. The blonde's fingers twisted the loose threads in his pockets as his thoughts sped forward beyond him. They were too numerous and came too quickly for him to grasp. His face burned despite the harsh winter wind and his lips tingled where he had been kissed...where he had kissed back. His heart hammered against his chest with running leaps as if it were desperately trying to escape.

In seemingly no time they'd reached the house. Leon moved passed him to unlock the door. Cloud stared at the undeniably handsome man before him. Leon's long brown hair moved slightly with the wind and Cloud felt his heartbeat adjust to match it. Leon's eyebrow furrowed slightly and Cloud felt his following. _'What is this...?'_ he thought, moving a pale hand to clutch at his chest on the off chance he'd be able to drag it out and examine it.

He followed the other into the house, closing and locking the door behind him. They removed their jackets simultaneously and without a word. Cloud felt Leon's eyes on him and he lifted his own to meet them, a light phrase and smile prepared to lighten to mood, but the intensity reflected back at him in those deep blue eyes stopped whatever he had been preparing in his throat.

"Cloud..." Leon said, his voice husky and thick with urgency. Something needed to be discussed and Leon wanted it discussed **now**. Cloud felt an inexplicable panic come over him, his tremulous feelings overwhelming him. He couldn't talk to Leon, not with his head like this.

"I'm really tired. Gotta work early tomorrow, Night Leon," he said with a mock yawn, the words spilling out of his mouth without contemplation. He practically flew passed Leon and up the stairs so that the door to his room was slamming before Leon could even blink.

Several moments passed before he was able to fully process what had happened, and when he did he wished he hadn't. Leon narrowed his eyes, before moving on to straighten the already straight books on the coffee table and to wash the few dishes in the sink. He busied himself with the tasks of the house to avoid that nagging question slowly peeling away the layers of his sanity.

He slammed the last cup down next to the sink, glaring at his reflection in the window.

'_Was I just...rejected?'_

_

* * *

  
_

"Thank you for choosing Destati Videos, please come again," Leon mumbled, his voice flat and monotone.

The customer took their video, raising an eyebrow at the deflated employee before hurrying out the store. Yuffie and Sora sat on the counters on either side of Leon, studying him carefully. There was no color in his face, and he had bags under his eyes as if he hadn't slept at all the previous night. Although he was usually quiet today he was barely even there.

"Leon, do you think our lack of customers today is because you look like some sort of employee ghost, back from the dead to eternally haunt his workplace?" Riku asked as he entered, dropping a box of returns onto the counter and pushing it towards Yuffie. "Seriously, what's wrong with you?"

"Whoa, Cloudy keep you up all night, eh?" Yuffie said, elbowing Leon in his ribs.

Leon turned his head slowly toward the girl, and the look in his eyes was so much like that of a lamenting spirit that Riku's eyes widened as Sora moved to hide behind him.

Yuffie laughed nervously, inching backwards away from him. "I take it that's a no?"

"A big no," Sora said from his place safe behind his boyfriend.

Leon sighed wistfully, grabbing the boxes of returns and heading onto the floor.

"What happened?" Riku asked as they all followed the brunette around the store.

_'Mind your business you nosy bunch of knats,_' Leon thought, but his mouth betrayed him. "I kissed him."

Yuffie squealed in excitement, hands clasped together. "Yay, finally!"

Riku raised an eyebrow, "Then the problem is?"

_'The fact that you keep annoying me.' "_I don't know," Leon said, running a hand through his hair. "He kissed me back...I think. Then everything seemed...different. I haven't talked to him since."

Sora cringed, "Ouch."

Riku glared at him, elbowing in him in his side.

"Well DUH!" Yuffie exclaimed, grabbing a DVD Leon had stocked incorrectly and putting it in its correct place.

"Duh, what?" Sora asked

"Duh he's _shy_ that's what! I can see it now, cheeks flushed, lips parted, heart beat skipping. Kyaa, how cute!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Leon's neck.

He wrinkled his nose, pushing her away. "You're an idiot."

"No...No. Wait. I think Yuffie may be on to something," Riku said, tapping his palm with his fist. "I mean, who knows, you might be the first person to take an interest in him. Maybe he doesn't know what to do? You're kind of intense, Leon; maybe he's a bit intimidated."

Leon grunted, moving to a different aisle as a customer entered and distracted his coworkers. He suppressed a smile as he felt his confidence returning. Cloud had been human for not even a year, how could he know how human relationships worked? He _had_ kissed back, Leon was sure of it. '_I'll pick him up from work and we'll discuss it from there_,' he thought. He himself wasn't too sure about what was happening. Kissing Cloud was an impulse, but once it happened it felt so natural, so right. It was like nothing he'd ever experienced before. He'd felt it from his toes to the roots of his hair and it seemed like he'd been put on this earth to experience moments like that.

He wasn't experienced in dealing with emotions and other people but he was sure they could deal with it together.

* * *

"You _what_!?" Larxene exclaimed as Kairi burst into a fit of giggles. The two girls laughed together, banging the tables and holding their stomachs as if Cloud had just told a hilarious joke.

Cloud glared at them, slamming the books into their respective places. "It really isn't funny guys! I don't know what to do!"

The girls calmed down enough to regulate their breathing, with only the minor giggle escaping sporadically.

"Well you see," Larxene began, folding her hands into her lap. "When two people love each other, they get a private room and take their clothes off. Then-"

Kairi smacked the other girl with one hand and covered her mouth with the other. "Stop. Just stop," she said, before turning her gaze to Cloud. "What's there to do? Do you like him?"

Cloud sighed, sitting on one of the empty tables. "I don't know. What does it mean to_ like_ somebody?"

"Well," Kairi began, moving her hands from restraining Larxene to tap at her chin thoughtfully, "I guess it's different for everyone. For one thing, you like being around them. You think about them a lot, and notice when they're gone. Eventually you find you've made them their own special place in your life that's so significant if they ever disappear it would be like a whole chunk of who you are has been stolen."

Larxene laughed, lightly shoving Kairi to the side, "Oh please, enough with the chick flick crap; they're men! Leon seems like the type to take my advice anyway."

Cloud looked at the girl incredulously, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

Larxene nodded, "Let me elaborate. Do you find yourself picturing him naked? Getting dirty thoughts? Wanting him to pin you against the-"

"Don't let her poison your mind Cloud!" Kairi exclaimed, covering his ears with her hand.

"Oh please, he's an adult," Larxene exclaimed, moving to pull Kairi's hands off of his ears.

"Uhm...I don't think Leon's like that Larxene," Cloud said.

Kairi rolled her eyes, "Let's say it's a mixture of those things ok? Does he make you happy?"

"Hmm..." Cloud thought to himself, contemplating the question. He tried to picture his life on earth as human without Leon. He was happy, very happy and he couldn't possibly see that happening without the help of Leon. He smiled, leaning against the bookshelf.

"You definitely like him," The girls said in unison.

"Maybe I -"

"Cloud."

The three looked towards the stairs, where a mousy college student was standing nervously.

"Yes?" Cloud asked, startled by the sudden intrusion.

"Uhm, someone's here to see you and Quistis said your shift is almost up so you can just go home."

"Oooo!" both girls exclaimed, moving to tickle the blonde.

"Go ahead Lover boy!" Larxene exclaimed, pushing Cloud towards the stairs.

Cloud blushed, glaring at the girls before turning to the stairs.

* * *

Leon had left work early, clocking out without a word and simply escaping. He doubted the others would mind, it was an uncharacteristically slow day anyway and they thoroughly supported what Yuffie had dubbed 'Cleon.' In his haste he had forgotten to button up his coat and dropped his scarf so that it hung haphazardly back on the video stores door knob.

It was freezing but he didn't notice. His mind was too clouded with thoughts and plans and feelings. How long had it been since he actually contemplated his feelings? Since he had admitted to himself that he _had_ feelings. A thousand scenarios ran through his mind and blended together. So many things could go wrong, in fact, he was sure there was more that could go wrong than right. Despite that fact, he couldn't bring himself to stop and turn around, back to how everything was before broken windows and chances taken.

His heart began to beat rapidly as he neared the library, pumping the adrenaline through his body. He shoved his hands into his pockets and turned the corner, the way he'd initiate the conversation already being planned out in his head.

And then he saw them.

They were standing in front of the Library, Cloud and a woman he'd never seen before, hugging as if they were reunited after a long absence and afraid of being separated again. She was beautiful with perfect milky skin and sparkling green eyes. Her brown hair moved perfectly with the wind and her smiles pulled out Clouds. Leon was dazzled.

He had seen Cloud smile before, all the time, every day. He'd grown to love that smile. But the smile he'd seen was _nothing_ compared to this. This was so unlike the quick shy smiles Cloud graced him with before attempting to pull his face back into seriousness. There was pure, unadulterated happiness in his smile that seemed to reach every part of his body from his eyes to his toes. His lips curled up and apart and stayed that way as the girl began to talk animatedly, his hands resting lightly on her waist. Cloud laughed and hugged her again before pulling back and resuming their conversation.

Leon felt his hands involuntarily curl into fists in his pockets. **He** had never seen Cloud like that. **He** had never made Cloud _that_ happy. **He** didn't know Cloud at all. Cloud hadn't let Leon get to know anything about him but pried and prodded into Leon's life until he knew every single secret.

He felt his chest tighten with something akin to jealousy as he saw the girl wrap herself around Clouds arm, leading him away. He turned away, heading back up the block all adrenaline gone.

He was hurt.

The Cloud he'd just seen was relaxed, calm, and real. He was someone that thought and felt and had a story. The Cloud he'd fallen for was one dimensional. He'd seen one side to Cloud's personality and hadn't until just this moment wondered if there was more.

* * *

Cloud was lost. He didn't know what to do. He'd been pleasantly surprised when his visitor turned out not to be Leon, but an old friend from before he was human, but the reunion soon turned somber as he received the news she'd come to pass along. He understood completely where the people who checked in on him from time to time were coming from, but he couldn't help but think they were wrong.

His uneasiness only increased as the hours slowly passed. He'd rushed home, hoping to be able to talk with Leon. The other man was always so calm and collected. He was smart too and even if he wasn't saying anything his very presence was enough to calm Cloud down. Surely together they both could figure it out. But Leon had not been there when he got home at six. And at seven and eight and nine o'clock the house was still empty.

He set to work making dinner, settling on a simple meal of spaghetti and by the time he'd set two places at the table it was nearly 11 and Leon was still not home. Worry clenched at his chest as he recalled all the horrible possibilities he learned on the news. He checked the messages but Leon hadn't called. He called Yuffie to ask, but she said he'd left early to meet him, and his worry doubled.

His heart fell to the pit of his stomach as he hung up the phone. He had a very bad feeling.

It wasn't till half past midnight that Cloud finally heard the door opening. He rushed to the door, tripping over his own feet in his haste. He grabbed Leon's hands, his shoulders, his waist, turning him this way and that to check for any sign of a injury.

"What are you doing?" Leon said, his cold grey blue eyes boring holes into his head.

"Where were you? It's really late Leon! Are you ok?" Cloud asked, suddenly hurt by the look Leon was giving him. He'd been so worried and Leon was so nonchalant, so distant. He felt as if Leon was treating him like a stranger.

"It's none of your business where I was," Leon mumbled, kicking off his shoes and hanging up his coat.

Cloud stepped back, hurt. "I was worried. You're usually here when I get home, and I made dinner. It's cold but I could heat it back up if you wa-"

"Don't bother," Leon mumbled, pushing passed the blonde to head towards the stairs.

Cloud grabbed his arm to stop him, opening his mouth to ask what was wrong.

Leon stopped and turned to him, mustering up the coldest glare he could. It took all his willpower to keep his gaze from softening as he saw the hurt and confusion in Clouds face. He pulled his arm roughly away from the other and stormed up the stairs before he could lose his resolve.

Cloud flinched as he heard the door slam shut with enough force to rattle the pictures on the walls.

_'What is going on_?'

* * *

**a|n:** edited May 26, 2009


	8. Here It Goes

_**Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?**_

**Chapter Eight  
**_Here It Goes_

Riku should have been a doctor.

He had the brains for it. In fact, he had been in school studying medicine for nearly 3 years until that fate altering day when he took the short cut behind the liberal arts building and just happened to pass a certain window of a certain movie club where a certain brown haired, blue eyed boy sat looking much too perfect. Within a period of weeks he'd developed a love of film and was switching his major to business.

A few years later (six to be exact) he was twitching in the corridor with an ulcer as his customer-hating employee took his frustrations out on his sacred DVD boxes.

"Leon, _please_. What have the movies done to you?" Riku exclaimed, grabbing the video out of Leon's hand before he could slam it into place. "Sheesh, gentle Leon; this is the merchandise."

Leon glared at him so fiercely Riku swore the temperature around him decreased by at least ten degrees.

"Uhm...yea...I'm gonna..." Riku laughed nervously, slowly inching away before crying "Sora!" and all but running away.

Leon growled as he slammed the remainder of the DVDs into the white shelves before picking up the crate and stomping away. He tossed it into the backroom, maneuvering his way around the hoards of giggling women to stand behind the counter.

He dropped his elbows on the counter, resting his chin on his palms. '_Stupid job. Stupid girls. Stupid blonde_,' he thought, eyes narrowing to almost slits. He recalled images of the brunette from the night before. She was beautiful and seemed _very_ familiar with Cloud. '_If they're so close why doesn't he go live with her?'_ he thought darkly.

The bells on the door rung, signaling a customer and Leon looked up, eyes smoldering as he saw the very reason for his foul mood approaching. He glared as the indirect source of his stress and lack of sleep seemed to glide across the short distance from the door to the counter, smiling that pearly white, perfect smile all the way. The smile was so kind and thoroughly un-evil that Leon's anger dissolved into curiosity as he straightened up and looked down at her.

"Leon, right?" she asked. "May I have a word?"

* * *

Leon sulked in the high backed chair of the posh cafe, glaring at the woman through his tall water glass. Even her distorted image through the water was beautiful, and he was painfully aware of the stares they were getting. She ignored them; however, daintily consuming a piece of chocolate cake in the most ladylike of manners and the sheer _perfection_ of everything she did was making the brunette sick. It was like she was a model human, sent down from some higher power to teach the pathetic regular people how to exist. _This is how you eat, this is how you breathe and walk and talk._

"Mmm… you should try this cake Leon! It's really good."

"I'll pass," the brunette snapped, folding his arms across his chest.

"Suit yourself," she said, dipping the fork into the slice once more. "You know," she motioned to Leon with her fork. "Cloud _loves_ the smell of chocolate but can't stand the taste." She giggled, "Once, I accidently added chocolate syrup to his-"

"Is there a point to this?" Leon said coldly. He felt his heart twinge when he realized that, no; he didn't know that Cloud liked the smell of chocolate. The last thing he needed was for them to start a battle of "did you know" and prove even further how little of himself Cloud had let him see.

Some unidentifiable emotion passed across her face but it was gone before Leon could name it, replaced instead with a sad smile as she put her fork down, placing her hand on either side of the plate as she leaned forward. "You're right; I should just get to it already."

'_So get to it,_' Leon thought, arms still folded as he leaned back in his chair.

"I'm not sure exactly how much you know, but Cloud really cares about you so I'm sure it's fine to share this with you. The 'me' you see right now is a farce. My name is Aerith Gaignsbourough, and like Cloud...well, like Cloud _was,_ I'm an angel. I've known Cloud since we were both very young, and I was his lawyer in his expulsion case."

Leon's glare softened and he leaned forward, interested. '_Lawyer..._'

"There was...an incident involving a village, although I'm sure by this point Cloud has already explained this to you."

Leon tilted his head to the side, confused. '_No,_' he thought, '_He hasn't..._'

"We lost the case, and for his punishment he was sentenced to mortality and sent down here to finish off his life in sorrow, as a human. The elders imagined that he would suffer greatly, having no idea how to do anything necessary for humans and that even if he somehow did manage to survive he would be miserable. But obviously, things haven't gone as planned."

"Cloud is very happy with you. And because of this the elders are _not_ happy… Ugh, I'm sure they wouldn't even be still looking for that case if it wasn't for Sephiroth," she said, slamming the table in uncharacteristic rage.

"Sephi...what?" Leon said, thoroughly confused.

Aerith looked up at him, obviously shocked and confused at herself. "You don't know who Sephiroth is?"

Leon shook his head, eyebrow raised.

"How much did Cloud leave out?" Aerith asked, disbelief causing her eyebrows to furrow.

Leon felt his own rage building and he stood suddenly the chair shook, threatening to fall but never hitting the ground. "Everything," he said, slamming a bill on the table and storming out.

Aerith leaned back, sighing as she watched Leon's figure disappear up the street. "Oh Cloud...this is going to get messy."

* * *

"This is no good, as we've said countless times," Marluxia, an angel elder said as he folded his hands in front of him.

"Well, the punishment was simply to banish him from our Utopia into the human world. We assumed bad would befall him but those were simply assumptions," stated another elder, creating quite a bit of uproar as those who agreed and those who disagreed began to argue loudly.

A pretty blonde girl, although despite her appearance she had long since departed from the age of being a "girl", sat at the head of the long table, occasionally glancing up from her sketchpad to observe the ordeal.

"Silence!" Sephiroth commanded standing up, he threw one arm out to the side as he said this, and the rare black wing shot out as well, scattering feathers across the white floor. "Let us attempt to retain some order here. There is all this talk about what has happened, but the real talk should be on what to do about it. I presume we have-"

"You're awfully worried about a case that's been closed so satisfyingly." the blonde said, her voice soft yet clear as she rested her chin on her hand. She appeared to be talking to them all, but Sephiroth could feel the accusation specifically directed towards him in her glance. "I can't help but wonder why the other cases aren't met with such enthusiasm."

"Lady Namine," he began, but she held up her hand.

"Why don't you, General Sephiroth, go down for observance and report your findings back to us? We'll compare them to Ms. Gaignsborough's when she returns and decide our course of action from there."

A sinister grin formed on the silver haired man's face, pulling his lips back into a snarl more than anything else. "Yes ma'm," he said cooly. "My pleasure."

* * *

Cloud sat at the counter, absently twirling the spoon in his mug of hot chocolate, intending not to drink it but to let the fading aromas ease him into a sense of comfort so he could figure things out accordingly.

Not only were the elders unsatisfied with what their punishment had accomplished, but for some reason or another Leon seemed colder than ever. He thought back to the events after the movie what seemed like ages ago, but what in reality was only two nights, and felt his stomach drop. '_Well of course he's mad...I would be too_,' Cloud thought as he remembered the way he'd brushed off the urgency the other man felt and ran away.

He heard the slam of a door opened too quickly colliding with the wall and then a second slam as it closed itself due to the force. There was the rustling of outer clothes being removed and the stomp stomping of someone much less than happy. Cloud stood to confront Leon, to explain himself before things got out of hand but before he could even step away from his chair the door to the kitchen opened, revealing a breathless, visibly pissed off Leon.

Cloud combed his brain for suitable conversation starters to break their staring contest, something to not only get them talking to each other but to ease the suffocating tension in the room. Before he could speak however Leon stepped forward, in two long legged strides he was a foot away from Cloud, the small bar-like counter separating them like the physical manifestation of all the problems keeping them apart.

Leon tilted the mug of hot chocolate so he could look into it, some of it spilled onto the jade counter, hot smoke still rising from the puddle it had made. "You gonna drink that?" Leon asked, his eyes cold, distant and unreadable. It was as if the curtains had been suddenly drawn.

Cloud opened his mouth to answer but Leon wasn't finished.

"Of course you won't. You don't like chocolate. You like the smell, you don't like the taste. You know how I know this? You didn't tell me this, oh you didn't bother to tell me any of it," Leon exclaimed, his voice louder and half an octave higher then he would have liked.

"Leon...what? I don't understand...how does this relate to anything?"

"How does this? How does this relate to anything?" Leon was furious now, with one sweeping motion of his left hand the cup flew across the room to shatter on the wall above the dining table, splattering its path with chocolate as it flew. "Why does it seem like someone else is always filling me in?!"

Cloud had jumped when the cup crashed, but he regained his composure, eyes narrowing to slits as he glared at the man before him. He had been calm, albeit very confused, however now he felt his own anger rising. The sweep of the arm sending the cup flying, the unnecessarily loud voice, it all reminded Cloud of days long passed and decidedly buried underneath better memories. The other man was throwing the grown mans version of a tantrum and Cloud would have none of it. "I don't even what you're talking about Leon! How can I fill you in if I don't know what you want to know?" He exclaimed, slamming his hand on the counter, making some noise of his own (although it paled in comparison to the glass shatter) before the anger dissipated and he moved around the counter so they were both standing on the same side. He place a soothing hand on the other mans arm, "Talk to me. Tell me what's bothering you."

Leon glared at him. "You know everything. Everything I have you've somehow managed to figure out. You know, so much about me and I barely know anything about you at all! Why are you here? How'd you come here? What's your favorite fucking color!?"

Cloud paled considerably, removing his hand from the other. "Does it matter? That was another time, you know who I am. Isn't that enough?" He turned to leave the kitchen but Leon reached out, grabbing the other by the shoulder and turning him around.

"I want to know **why**? Why do you like the things you do? What made you into the person you are today?"

Cloud sighed, he knew this day would come, but he didn't know if he was ready for it to be today.

Leon shook his head, disappointed at the lack of cooperation from the blonde. "I met Aerith today."

Cloud's eyes widened, "How much did she tell you!?"

Leon sighed, "Enough for me to know you haven't told me anything. I don't understand Cloud! What could be so horrible that you'd want to hide it from me?"

The blonde said nothing, merely turning his head to focus his gaze on the sink faucet beyond them.

"I'm head over heels for you Cloud. Crazy, I know. I'm not even sure what it means but I've never felt this way about anyone before. All I think about is you, every day, only you. Nothing could ever possibly change what I feel for you."

Cloud looked up, slightly taken aback by the confession. He had definitely _not_ expected this from Leon. His cheeks flushed a light pink and he felt his heart jump at the other mans words. "Are you sure?" he asked, so low it was almost a whisper.

Leon nodded, and there was something written in the way his eyes locked onto Clouds and the seriousness and worry etched into his features that made Cloud believe him.

* * *

"I was a soldier in the angel army, training under the great General Sephiroth. I wanted nothing more than to be close to him. He was my childhood hero. He defended our utopia; stopping would be problems before they could even start. He has one wing you know? A black one. That meant he was special. And he really was, or at least I thought so." Cloud said gravely, twisting the edges of his shirt in his hands as he told the story, looking anywhere but at Leon.

They had moved to the living room, Cloud leading the way to the large blue couch in the center where they could sit, facing each other. Leon sat, his face unreadable as he listened intently to Clouds story.

"I wasn't particularly talented," the blonde said with a sort of wistful smile, as if his memories were bittersweet, "But I worked hard and the higher ups took notice of that. General Sephiroth in particular and I moved to work for him. Things were fine, and he taught me a lot but something always seemed _wrong_ you know? Like there was something about him that was just not right." Cloud sighed, leaning his head against the cushion. "Of course something wasn't right. He was crazy. **Is** crazy. I'm sure of that."

"When I began to work for him I started to see exactly how he was, and it wasn't really the hero I'd created during my childhood. He was demanding, strict, fierce, not at all kind. I don't think he's capable of pity or empathy, but that's completely different to the side he shows the public...so I was confused. He required certain...actions from some of his assistants." Cloud said, raising his eyebrows to make sure Leon understood what he was saying,

"And I complied...I was young and naive and idolized him. This went on and little by little he began to get more and more out of it. Like, he'd get upset at the smallest things. I've seen him kill workers for not answering his call on time, and then he'd cover it up with some past rule they'd broken and say it was all justified. He began to focus on some section of the code called JENOVA that I couldn't even read because it was written in a dead language, and I think that changed him to something even worse." Cloud stopped there, taking a deep breath as the memories came rushing back, the fire, the screams, it was all as fresh in his mind as the event from the kitchen not twenty minutes ago, as if they had happened both simultaneously and in separate lifetimes.

Leon reached out and gently grabbed his hand, giving it a slight squeeze of encouragement as if to say '_go on_'. Cloud looked at his hand and then up at Leon smiling a bit before letting out his breath and resuming his story.

"I began hearing him talk of creating a new world where him and his fellow one winged angels could live supreme. I didn't say anything because I thought I..." Cloud faltered, unsure of the words '_Love? Did I love him?_' He remembered the way he had been treated and decided it was defiantly something less spiritual and more carnal. "I thought I cared very deeply for him. But now I see I was just scared. He thought he was superior, but one day we stumbled across Nibelheim. There were labs containing old Angel records. He figured he could use it to help himself attain his goals, but it turns out there were no other one winged angels because it was unnatural. Sephiroth was created as some sort of experiment. They tried to create others, copies so to speak but they were all failures." The eerie image of men, nearly identical to the General, still in the egg like pods haunted him to this day. "He went insane then I think. Really insane. He demanded I kill the head scientist, prove myself to him or something. But at this point I had already wanted to be as far away from him as possible. I refused him and he became _enraged_. More angry then I'd ever seen him so I left. I needed to get away, his eyes were so unlike anything I've ever seen before. They were terrible."

Leon nodded, still gently stroking Clouds hand as if to show that he wasn't back at that time, that these were just memories he was revisiting and everything was alright now.

"I stayed in a separate room. I woke to screams and the fire. As soon as I stepped outside the heat burned me terribly. There were bodies everywhere, some...completely slashed in two. Decapitated, dismembered with different parts strewn throughout the town like some sort of twisted scavenger hunt. And everywhere things were collapsing, burning slowly to the ground." Cloud gulped, feeling his dinner coming back up as he remembered the feel of the heat, the sight of the bodies and the sheer smell of burning flesh and wood. "Next thing I knew he was behind me, shouting to the other soldiers that he found the culprit. That it was me. He told me this was my punishment for betraying him."

Cloud smiled bitterly at Leon, shrugging as he allowed his eyes to rest on Leon's face before darting away to the distant bookcase "And the rest is history. With him leading the case I was found guilty and sentenced to a life as a human. You know, to suffer. But I'm not suffering and so they're not happy"

Leon didn't say anything, he seemed to merely study the blonde, and the light of his new found knowledge seemed to show the other man in a different light. Cloud felt self-conscious under his gaze and squirmed a bit, taking his hand out of the others. "I can understand if you're a bit-"

Before he could finish he found his face in Leon's hands, their lips pressed together in a rough kiss, as if it was Leon's way of telling him he was an idiot. "So you're being punished for doing absolutely nothing wrong? Sounds like a real Utopia." he said after they'd broken apart. "This doesn't change anything." He kissed the blonde again, more passionately this time, "See?"

Cloud laughed, suddenly feeling much lighter than he had ever felt. He smiled at Leon before wrapping his arms around his neck, knocking them back onto the couch. He looked down from his new position on top of the brunette and smiled his most honest smile he'd smiled in a long time. He inwardly chuckled at the glazed, happy look that flashed in the others' eyes before he swooped down, capturing the others lips in a passionate kiss.

* * *

Leon cleared the coffee dishes off the table, dropping them into the sink and turning the water on so the left over pancake syrup wouldn't stick. He was smiling, too happy with the events of last night to care much that it was eight o' clock in the morning and he was up even though he didn't need to be.

"Thank you for breakfast," Cloud said, kissing Leon on the cheek before grabbing his coat. "You don't head in till 2 today right?" he asked, absently buttoning it shut.

Leon nodded, reaching to wrap Cloud's scarf around his neck before kissing him as he slipped his keys into his pocket. "Have a good day," he said when they reached the front door.

Cloud smiled, waving as he left the property. He hummed as he walked; using all his self control to keep from dancing in the streets. He was oblivious to outside noises as he simply replayed the previous night's events in his head. He felt his face heat up, his feelings protecting him from the harsh winter winds. He was nearly halfway done with the short walk to the library when he stopped in his tracks. Three black feathers fell to the ground right in front of him.

"Hello Cloud."

Clouds eyes widened, he knew that voice anywhere. It was that same silky whisper from his nightmares. Sure enough, as he turned around he saw him standing there, even in human form his figure looked diabolical sitting on the small bench between two maple trees.

"Sephiroth..."

* * *

**a|n: **edited May 27, 2009


	9. And the Past is not the Past

_**Disclaimer: All characters, most places things etc. belong to Square-Enix and Disney…or whatever, I don't own anything…so…don't sue me ok?**_

**Chapter Nine  
**_And the Past is not the Past_

Cloud gulped, shoving his shaking hands in his pockets in an attempt to hide the tremor in his heart. He felt as if he had woken from a dream to find the star of his nightmares sitting casually a few feet away. His thoughts automatically drifted toward Leon and his friends and his heartbeat sped in panic.

As if he had read his mind Sephiroth smiled, raising a hand in peace.

"I simply wish to talk with you," he said, smiling that dark false smile that made him look like a lion honing in on its prey.

Cloud walked so he was standing directly in front of the other man. "What are you doing here?" he asked, glaring down at the other man.

"Like I said," smile, "I only wish to talk. I assume you've spoken to Ms. Gainsborough? This is simply business."

Cloud glared suspiciously at the other man.

Sephiroth motioned towards the bench, "Don't be rude. I'm a guest in your world; sit, let's catch up." He cocked his eyebrow, smirking at the blonde.

Cloud sighed and sat down. "What's your business here?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest.

Sephiroth's face turned serious, "The elders are not happy with the outcome of your punishment."

Cloud shrugged, "So things didn't go as they planned. That's not my fault or my problem. If that's what you're here for, you're just going to have to deal with it." He got up, stern face glaring at the man who was the cause of all his troubles, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a job to get to."

Sephiroth hissed, grabbing the blondes arm in a grip that was sure to leave a mark, "Don't get cocky Cloud. I will have my way. You think I'll let you live happily after betraying me?"

Cloud snatched his arm away, inwardly wincing at the sting, "Get over yourself Sephiroth. No one betrayed you; if anything, you've betrayed everyone who's ever put their trust in you."

He turned and walked away swiftly, not sparing a backwards glance to the man who was most surely glaring at his retreating back. He felt proud of himself for standing up to the other man, but at the same time the other mans words echoed in his head throughout the day.

_You think I'll let you live happily…_

Cloud sighed as he restocked the shelf of newly returned books, '_When will this be over?'_

* * *

Leon left the house, absently twirling his keys as he locked the door and walked to the edge of the drive way. He stopped at the gate, furrowing his furrowing his eyebrows as he stopped humming and looked around. There was no one on either side of the street but he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that he was being watched.

He shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose as he continued on his way. '_I must need sleep or something_' he thought, crossing the street so he emerged from suburbia into the outskirts of Hollow Bastion.

It was a nice day winter day and the shops and restaurants were decorating for the holidays, stringing lights above lampposts and street lights to hang wreaths and light up 'Happy Holidays' signs.

Two blocks from the video store the light was red and he waited with the other travelers on the edge of the sidewalk for the change that would allow them to continue. He turned to watch two waiters from a nearby café attempt to hang lights that looked like icicles from the too tall roof of the establishment. The next thing he knew he was falling, face first into the busy intersection. Leon put out his hands to steady himself as he fell, and there was a loud screech and the resonating beep of a powerful horn as the approaching 18 wheeler lurched to a halt.

"Thank God for good breaks you fucking psycho!" the driver exclaimed angrily as he drove around Leon honking.

A woman from the crowd dashed forward, putting a hand on his shoulder as he slowly got up, dazed. "Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?" she asked frantically, clearly shook by the near death experience he had just had.

Leon didn't register the woman's concerned questions as he turned back, looking at the sidewalk in suspicion. There were three or four other people there, all lined along the front edge of the sidewalk waiting for the light to change, standing side by side not one person behind the other. They looked at him with shock and accusation as if he had impulsively thrown himself into the oncoming traffic in some sort of young adult angst attack. It was impossible for any of them to have pushed him, but as Leon stared back into their accusatory stares he couldn't help but remember the feel of a strong hand on his lower back, shoving him forward.

He couldn't help but feel he had been pushed.

* * *

Kairi and Larxene stood at the head of the aisle, watching as Cloud put away the cart of books. He had put all the books on the same shelf and it was full, yet he stood there staring into space as he absentmindedly tried to fit another book onto the packed shelf. Both girls looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"What is wrong with you today Cloud?" Kairi asked grabbing the book out of his hand.

"Trouble in paradise?" Larxene asked with a wink, surveying the shelf before them, she 'tsked', "These are all wrong. Quistis would _freak_ if she saw this." She said, pulling all the books from the shelves and throwing them back onto the cart.

Cloud blinked, "Oh…I'm sorry. My mind is elsewhere." He picked up a book, carefully looking at the side this time before putting it away.

"Are you and Leon alright?" Kairi asked her and Larxene helping the blonde with his immense workload.

Cloud nodded, smiling, "We're more than alright actually," he said, a dreamy look taking over his face as recalled recent events, "We're perfect."

"Yay!" Kairi exclaimed, pinching Larxene as she proceeded to make gagging noises. "But," she said, as she shelved another book, "I'm not trying to pry or anything but if things are so good with Leon, what's bothering you so much?"

Cloud sighed, he turned the book over in his hand, "Well…there are people out there who don't want to see me happy. It never bothered me before, but now that I have so much to lose…"

"You're scared?" Kairi said in understanding.

"Terrified," Cloud said, laughing awkwardly.

Kairi shrugged, reaching back into the dwindling pile, "Well, it's natural for you to feel that way. It's human nature to be pessimistic."

"Pessimistic?" Cloud asked, cocking his head to the side slightly.

Larxene nodded, "Pessimistic. You're so happy you feel something bad just _has_ to happen."

"You shouldn't let that get in the way of your happiness though. Just enjoy the good thing you have no matter what. You guys deserve each other." Kairi added, smiling.

Cloud smiled, straightening his shoulders as he shelved another book, "Our situation…is a little more complicated," he said, "But thanks."

"Anytime spike, anytime." Larxene said, punching him on the shoulder lightly, "Now let's hurry up so we can go to lunch! I'm starving."

* * *

"Leon, could you vacuum the main floor please? I don't know what these girls are stepping in but they're tracking all kinds of weird stuff in here." Riku said, emerging from the back, a disgusted look on his face.

Leon nodded, grabbing the small dirt devil from underneath the register and leaving the counter.

"And Yuffie, could you restock these?" Riku said, dropping the box of returns onto the counter.

"Aye Aye Captain!" she said, saluting as she picked up the box and followed Leon onto the floor.

Leon grabbed the plug, bending forward to insert it into the outlet, before he could even come within an inch of the wall a loud buzzing sounded and flash of electricity seemed to shoot from the two small holes in the wall. Leon quickly jumped back, falling onto his back with the plug still in his hands.

"Oh my Gosh! Leon are you alright!?" Sora exclaimed, all three coworkers rushing over to where Leon was currently propping himself up on his elbows.

"I'm fine…" he said, staring at the outlet charily.

"That was so weird! I saw it with my own eyes; he didn't even get close to the outlet!" Yuffie exclaimed, dropping the box to check her friend for any wounds. "Just like the truck this morning!"

Leon rolled his eyes at her, but the more paranoid part of his subconscious connected the two events together also.

"Truck?" Riku asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I was almost hit by a truck this morning."

Sora's eyes widened, "A truck!? Geez Leon today is not your day."

Leon scoffed, examining the now charred carpet that would have been his charred face if his reflexes hadn't kicked in.

Riku shook his head, calming the frayed nerves of the fan girls browsing throughout the store with a dazzling smile. "Look, just to be safe why don't you work in the back today? We have a lot of holds to be stocked on the shelves back there anyway."

Leon nodded, getting up and heading to the back. He hadn't placed but one video on the shelf when the entire metal casing came loose from the wall, crashing towards him at a deadly speed, he stumbled away, tripping over the crates of film to find himself once again sprawled out on the floor with the wind knocked out of him.

"What is going on?" Riku exclaimed, rushing into the back. "Are you alright Leon?"

"Oh, no! Leon you're cursed!" Sora exclaimed at the sight before him.

Leon sat up, berating himself for momentarily agreeing with Sora.

'_Something_ _is not right._' He thought.

"These are probably the sturdiest thing in the entire shop," Yuffie said, walking over to a casing that was still connected to the wall and pushing all his weight on it, "An elephant could probably have sit on here and it wouldn't have come loose."

"You seem to be having a _really_ off day Leon." Riku said, sighing in exasperation, "Maybe you should take the afternoon off. Go home, sleep off this bad luck streak and come back tomorrow, accident free."

Leon nodded, never once taking his eyes off of the casing. "Maybe that's best."

He grabbed his coat, heading back out into the frigid town once more. He thought about visiting Cloud, or going to the supermarket but his subconscious was practically screaming at him to just go back home. _'Things are so weird today…_' he thought, looking both ways repeatedly before crossing the street.

He shuddered as he walked swiftly down the street, pulling his coat tighter around him as he felt eyes following his every move. '_Nonsense Leon,'_ he scolded himself, '_You're just being paranoid_.'

"Leon I presume?"

Leon looked around at the sound of the voice, eyes resting on the figure before him he could have sworn was _not_ there before. "Who're you?" he asked, frowning at the mysterious stranger before him. Long silver hair that seemed to reflect the light around them clashed attractively with his long black coat.

"How rude of me, Allow my to introduce myself" the man said, smiling as he held out his hand, "My name is Sephiroth. I'm sure you've heard of me."

* * *

"I hope you will carefully consider the information as well as the proposition I have presented you with." Aerith said, her soft voice echoing through the empty hall as she walked side by side with the very angel Namine herself.

"Fairness is a priority of mine Ms. Gainsborough." Namine said, smoothing out a wrinkle in her white dress as they turned a corner into the more busy streets of the kingdom. "If Mr. Strife really is innocent then there is much to be corrected."

"I am as sure of his innocence as I am of your sense of Justice your honor." Aerith said, turning to look at the blonde angel directly in the eyes, "I know what I am suggesting is unheard of at the very least, but if it can correct such a dire wrong I think it is the least we could do."

Namine said nothing for what seemed like an eternity. She simply looked at the other woman, searching her face as if it held the answer to some internal question.

"Very well then," she said finally, smiling at Aerith, "I'll consider the course of action I will take and bring it up at the elder meeting tonight."

* * *

Cloud unlocked the door to the home he and Leon shared, closing it behind him as flipped on a switch, instantly flooding the foyer with light. "I'm home," he called into the hall as he removed his scarf and jacket, walking into the living room.

He found Leon curled on the sofa; nose buried in one of the books Cloud had left lying on the coffee table. He stood in the door way for a moment, watching the brunette before shaking his head and moving to sit beside him on the sofa.

"I'm home" he repeated, a second attempt at recognition from his roommate.

Leon looked up, "I didn't even hear you come in." he said, gracing Cloud with a rare astounding smile that never ceased to set his heart in motion. If the blonde ever needed validation that he was indeed alive all the other would have to do was smile and Cloud would never doubt his heart beat again. "How was work?"

"Oh, same old; same old." Cloud said with a shrug, "What about you? I thought you didn't get out for another hour?"

Leon sighed, closing his book as if he was preparing for a long and taxing discussion, "I went home early. I…met Sephiroth today."

Cloud's eyes widened, breath hitching in his throat. "...What?" he croaked, mouth suddenly dry.

"I left work early because I seemed to have been having a streak of bad luck. First I was almost hit by a truck, then electrocuted, then crushed beneath a shelf."

Cloud felt himself sway, the panic rising steadily throughout his body. Noticing this Leon reached up, grabbing his boyfriend's arms and gently bringing him down to sit on the couch beside him.

"Don't worry." the brunette said softly, "I'm fine."

"What did he want?" Cloud implored, eyes roaming Leon searchingly as if he didn't quite believe that the other was one hundred percent.

_"I can see you're a man who doesn't like to draw things out so I'll get right to the chase." said Sephiroth, smirking in an all knowing, condescending way that made Leon's blood boil. "Leave Cloud."_

_Leon scoffed, "Fuck you." he said without missing a beat, standing up as straight as possible so he was seeing eye to eye with the angel._

_"Cloud Strife is a criminal," the silverette continued, unaffected by Leon's hostile outburst, "His time on earth is intended not as a learning experience or a second chance or whatever he's cooked up for you. It is his punishment. You are getting in the way of exacting this and I, as well as several of my colleagues, are personally and deeply offended by this."_

_Leon sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose in annoyance._

_"I believe you'll trust me when I say it is in your best interest to remove yourself from the situation now_._"_

_"Are you finished?" Leon said._

_Sephiroth merely smirked, motioning gracefully towards the unblocked road before him._

_Leon gave the angel one final glare before continuing on his way._

_"You'll regret it." Sephiroth called after him._

_"I doubt that." Leon mumbled._

_"With all the accidents you've been having lately, who knows what could come next."_

_Leon stopped walking; turning slowly so his accusatory glance fell sharply on the other man._

_Sephiroth smiled then, a smooth, toothy grin that showed no mirth or laughter, but only pure and unyielding malice. "You'll regret it"._

Cloud listened patiently to Leon's story, trying in vain to keep a poker face. Deep down inside he'd known it would come to this. That Sephiroth was here for a reason.

"He won't stop." Cloud said quietly, "You'll regret it."

"I won't." Leon said scowling, "Why the hell is everyone trying to tell me my own feelings?!"

Cloud flinched at the outburst, but recovered quickly, surveying Leon as if looking for a sign that he wasn't telling the truth.

Leon sighed, rubbing a hand through his hair, "Listen. I wouldn't do or put up with anything I didn't _want_ to. If I don't want to bother with something, I won't bother with it. I don't give a damn about keeping appearances or conforming or whatever else it is keeping people in situations they have no stake in." He offered the blonde a reassuring smile, "I thought you'd have known this by now."

"I just don't want you to suffer for my mistakes." Cloud said quietly, "Who _knows_ what Sephiroth and the counsel are capable of."

"Don't worry." Leon said, "No matter what happens from here on out, my only concern is that it was worth it."

Cloud smiled, "And is this worth it?"

Leon's response was to lean in and seal the distance between them with a kiss. For a short moment both of their worries were forgotten, tossed to the side along with every other care and thought in the world, save for those concerning the feel of the others lips.

When they finally parted Cloud smiled, patting the brunettes hand softly, "I'm going to start dinner." He said, his worries suddenly lifted and transported somewhere far away for at least a little while.

Leon nodded, returning to the novel he'd spent the last 4 hours trying to get into. "How you continuously read this stuff I'll never understand." He said, loud to allow his voice to carry into the kitchen.

"Reading is fun Leon," Cloud called back, removing the ingredients from the pantry, "You just have to find the genre best suited to you. It's like watching a movie…only not."

Leon laughed, shaking his head, "only not."

He gave it five more pages before accepting the fact that Ernest Hemmingway did not have anything interesting to say and dropping the book onto the couch. He head into the kitchen, wrapping his arms around the blonde at the stove. "What are you making?" he asked, speaking into the blonde's neck as he rested his head on Clouds shoulder.

"Hmm, spaghetti. It's all we have the ingredients for at the moment since no one bothered to go to the super market." The blonde laughed, stirring the sauce in the pot.

"Yea, I meant to do that." Leon said, placing a small kiss on the blonde's neck before removing himself to get started on the salad. '_If Yuffie could see me now_.' He found himself thinking as he removed the vegetables from the fridge.

Never in a million years would he have thought he was capable of being the type of person he was now. He hadn't changed much on the outside, but the people who knew him noticed subtle differences in the ways he walked, talked and carried himself. He himself was almost scared by the amount of change he saw. Six months ago it was just him and a dead end job, now, business was booming and he had totally and completely put his faith and trust in another human being. He never thought he would be able to care for _anyone_ this much, and he couldn't figure out if he was pleasantly surprised to discover that he could so quickly.

Leon was drawn out of his thoughts by the steady vibration of his cell phone. He sighed, shoving his hand in his pocket to bring out the device and see who it was that was bothering him.

"Sora?" he read, confused as to why the other man would be calling him at this hour.

"Hm?" Cloud answered, looking up from his work. He eyed the clock, noticing the late hour as well, "It must be important."

Leon nodded, flipping open the phone and pressing it to his ear.

Cloud watched the brunettes eyes get wider as he quickly dropped the vegetables, leaving the kitchen before the call was even over.

"I'll be right there." Cloud heard him say as the closet door opened.

"What's wrong?" Cloud asked, watching the brunette frantically grab his coat and keys.

Leon looked at Cloud in shock, as if the weight of the news Sora had brought him had just begun to settle. He grabbed the blonde's coat, tossing it to him,

"The video store is on fire!"

* * *

**a|n:** _edit finally finished! It's a little different (especially the end) from the first posting, mainly to make the final chapter make more sense._

Thanks for reading!!


	10. So It Goes

BEFORE YOU READ!!!!!

CHAPTER NINE HAS BEEN ~***SUPER EDITED*~**! Which is, like being edited, only better.  
There are new scenes in there that I forgot to include when I posted it the first time (yes, I am quite the idiot) that change things a bit. **This chapter will, for the most part, not make sense if chapter nine is not reread.**

Seeing as how it's been forever and a day since my last update a backtrack would probably be needed for you awesome, lovely, incredible people who decide to continue reading even though I'm a lame promise breaking flake, but I like stating the obvious anyway.

For those still reading, thanks loves

Enjoy!!

**Chapter Ten**

_So It Goes_**  
**

Both men ran through the cozy streets of suburbia as if their life depended on it, jackets barely in place as the cold wind whipped mercilessly at their faces. The lights of the houses had long since been turned out, and countless families slept oblivious to the destruction taking place a few blocks away.

As soon as they broke away from the cul-de-sac could Cloud and Leon see the yellow orange flames licking the night sky in a vain attempt at total destruction. But because the sky was out of reach it settled for consuming whatever was in its path. The sight of the flames brought back memories for Cloud, and his eyes widened in panic,

'_It can't be!'_ he thought.

The video store was on one of those strips found in modern cities where businesses were packed so tightly together they could communicate through Morse code on shared walls. Every business on the block was packed so tightly together that dropping something heavy in one store would disturb at least three. And yet, despite their close proximity and the metaphysical certainty that each and every store on the block should be up in flames by now, only the video store was consumed by the near blue fire. Leon spotted Yuffie rushing towards them, hopelessness and desperation chasing away her usual mischievous grin.

"How?!" Leon managed to cough out. The air surrounding the store was black with smoke and thick with the scent of the burning merchandise inside.

Yuffie's shrug was exaggerated by the weight of her defeat. "Who knows? I saw the flames from my apartment and called Riku."

The said owner stood precariously close to the wild flames, staring into the space as if it somehow was going to spit out the answers he needed. Sora stood a few feet away; arms wrapped around him as he stared at the burning store through tear filled eyes. The store was Riku's entire life, it was more than just his job it was all his hopes and dreams, his _future. _Just when something resembling success had finally come around it was unfair that it had to be crushed so violently.

Meanwhile, memory after memory began to assault Cloud one after the other, past experiences made more vivid by the heat of the fire and the crackling sounds of buildings destroyed. This type of precise, controlled destruction was not natural or a coincidence. It was not the product of a freak accident or an unfortunate twist of fate. This type of destruction was created, and Cloud knew of only one being that could, and would cause this.

A handful of black feathers, as if on cue, fell from the sky like a sinister snow. In a mere second Cloud took off, logic clouded by anger, in the direction he felt they came from.

"Cloud!" Leon exclaimed, taken aback by the blonde's sudden movement.

Cloud stopped, turning towards the other and trying to communicate as much as he could to the other with just his face. Although he didn't know what the blonde was thinking and why, the look on Cloud's face told him that whatever it was was important; so Leon nodded to the other before turning his attention to the fire.

The brunette made his way closer to the fire, moving so he was standing next to Sora. He contemplated trying to comfort the other but thought better of it. He knew he wouldn't be able to even if he could make himself try, so he simply settled for squeezing the others shoulder as he continued on to Riku, half worried the silver haired boy was going to throw himself into the flames.

"Riku." He said quietly, carefully observing the boy.

If he heard him, Riku made no movement to acknowledge the fact. The blue-orange flames of the intense fire reflected twin renditions of the destruction before him in wide, aquamarine orbs. Leon placed a hand on the others shoulder, half an attempt at comfort, half a precaution lest the other attempt anything crazy as the sounds of the fire trucks sirens got louder and louder.

**

* * *

  
**

Just when Cloud thought he lost the others trail, more black feathers fell like breadcrumbs leading him home. The silver haired angel stayed ahead of the blonde, controlling the pace and direction. Cloud knew following the other to Shiva knew where was a bad idea, but he couldn't think of any other option.

The trail stopped in the clearing of a manmade park he remembered him and Leon having lunch at months ago that felt both very recent and a lifetime away. It was completely deserted, leaves long gone from the large, imposing trees and ground nearly frozen beneath his feet. Cloud could not hear or see the other but he felt his presence around him, knew he was there.

"Sephiroth!" he exclaimed, annoyed with the others manipulative games, "Face me!"

Sinister, bell like laughter seemed to encompass the entire park like wind from no particular direction as Sephiroth gracefully descended from his perch above, landing without so much as a rustle of fabric. "I'm here, Strife. _Facing_ you." He said, ever present smirk gracing his features, "What now puppet? Tell me."

Cloud cringed at the use of the old, maddening nickname. "Why would you do that to the video store?! Riku has nothing to do with this!"  
"Hmm? Do what to what video store?"

"Don't play dumb! I know it was you!" Cloud exclaimed, patience running thick, "And I know about you talking to Leon."

Sephiroth shrugged, "The boy needed to be taught a lesson. Meddling in affairs that don't concern him."

"Whatever concerns me concerns him!" Cloud exclaimed, fists clenching at his side, "He's my boyfriend."

Sephiroth's gaze darkened, "You're sentence is to suffer."

"My sentence was to live a human life! What happened from there on was up to fate!"

"I will make sure you suffer." Sephiroth said through clenched teeth, "He will regret ever laying eyes on you; Slowly but surely I'll destroy him, and you'll watch." He said, inching forward till every word till he was so close his eyelashes cast shadows on Cloud's cheeks in the dim moonlight.

Despite the rapid beating of his heart Cloud didn't let his gaze falter. He knew he was no match for the other as an angel, as a human Sephiroth wouldn't have to exert the slightest effort to destroy him. Yet, the desire to protect Leon made his inevitable destruction meaningless. He would protect him no matter what. '_Maybe this is what love is_,' he thought as his narrowed blue met green.

"Over my dead body." He said quietly.

Sephiroth smiled; raising a hand to stroke the others cheek "That. Can be arranged."

"Cloud!"

Both men turned at the interruption, Sephiroth glaring at the other angel.

"Aerith?" Cloud asked, "What's going on? Why're you here too?"

The brunette smiled, giving Sephiroth a smug look, "I have _excellent_ news." She said.

* * *

"Is there any other information you have?" the fireman asked the group of employees, standing around the fire truck as the others worked to put out the mysterious fire.

"I got a call from one of my employees, who saw the flames from her apartment. That's it…" Riku said quietly, still staring at the burning video store.

The fireman, a blonde who Leon thought had said his name was Demyx something or other nodded, smiling in what Leon guessed was supposed to be reassurance, "It's unfortunate but it happens sometimes. Freak electricity accidents, good thing for insurance huh?" he said before walking away.

"My entire life was in that store," Riku said quietly, watching the dying flames give way to charred rubble, "Everything I owned, everything I work for…"

"It's not the end!" Sora exclaimed, trying to cheer his boyfriend up, "We can rebuild it, I'm sure insurance will cover most of it anyw-"

"It's not that easy!" Riku snapped angrily.

Sora looked down dejectedly, hurt by Riku's outburst. The older man sighed, running a hand through his silver hair. "I'm sorry Sor, it's just…." He wrapped his arm around the other's shoulders and Sora returned the gesture, pulling him into a full hug.

"I know," Sora said, rubbing comforting circles on the others back.

Leon exhaled deeply, rubbing the bridge of his nose. '_This was definitely not an accident_,' he thought, eyes resting on the now completely destroyed store. There was a charred, empty place between the two shops on either side of the video store whose back wall was the only one still standing. Leon couldn't help feeling like this was some sort of message from Sephiroth, a warning or a threat.

He narrowed his eyes, '_I'm not giving up_.'

Once the flames were out and the fireman had enough information for a full report and had pulled away, the four observers stood before their former place of employment, surveying the damage.

Riku sighed, kicking the remains of an unidentifiable DVD case across the road. "Talk about unlucky."

Yuffie sighed, "This sucks."

"So what happens now?" Leon asked, folding his arms across his chest.

Riku shrugged, "At this point, I have no idea. I'm not sure if it's worth rebuilding."

"WHAT!?" Yuffie and Sora exclaimed at the same time.

"No! Riku! You have to rebuild the video store!" Yuffie exclaimed, "It's our second home, and it was doing so well."

"Do you not enjoy it anymore?" Sora asked.

Riku ran through tangled hair, "I don't know anymore. I have to think about it. I'll call you all sometime this week and we can meet up. I'm going to get some sleep; you all should do the same."

* * *

Cloud didn't know how to feel. The news Aerith brought him was wonderful, in a sense it was the chance he had been waiting for for months. Yet, at the same time the thought of it made his heart sink.

Cloud and Aerith walked in silence back to Leon's house. When they got to the front Aerith turned to Cloud, smiling in understanding.

"Sephiroth has been called back, and I'm to return tomorrow. You have until then to decide what you want to do." She said, hugging him, "Whatever you decide I'll support you."

Cloud smiled, returning the hug, "Thanks."

Once she had disappeared Cloud sighed, dragging his feet up the steps to the door. The inside of the house was dark and Cloud frowned, wondering if he should have returned to the video store before coming here. He climbed the steps, noticing the light on in Leon's bedroom. The brunette was standing at the window, staring out into the night looking for nothing in particular.

"Hey," Cloud said, catching the others eyes in the glass.

"Hey."

Cloud stepped into the room, sitting on the bed, "How's the shop?"

Leon turned around to face the other, leaning against the wall, "Gone. It was Sephiroth wasn't it?"

Cloud sighed, "I'm positive it was, but he didn't admit it."

Leon nodded, "I guess even if we could prove it there's still nothing we can do." he said, suddenly looking thoughtful.

After a moment of silence, Cloud took a deep breath, readying himself for the direction the conversation was going to take. "Aerith brought me some news."

"Your lawyer?" Leon asked.

Cloud nodded, "About the case."

Leon said nothing maintaining his poker face save the sudden tenseness to his jaw.

"It's been reopened. I'm to report back for reevaluation, but they have no control over me anymore, if you don't want me to go I won't go. Just say so and I won't even think of it."

Leon sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, '_This is a great night_,' he thought exasperated. His eyes were heavy, he smelled like smoke, he was hungry, and all he wanted was to curl up and go to bed and not wake up until everything had sorted itself out. He sat down on the bed, resting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. He felt a sudden rage rising up within him for Sephiroth. The man was responsible for his entire world being turned upside down and all he wanted was a chance to wrap his neck around the others-

"Leon?" Cloud said quietly, carefully observing the others body language for his reaction. When he got no response he reached out to put a hand on the others shoulder, "Leon, say something please. Anything."

"What do you want me to say?" Leon snapped, instantly regretting it. '_Don't take it out on him,'_ he told himself, '_Calm down. This could be your last night together, don't end on a fight._'

"Tell me not to go!" Cloud exclaimed.

"I won't tell you that. This is the chance you've been waiting for." Leon said quietly, "A chance to clear your name."

"I don't care about that anymore." Cloud said, as soon as the other had completed his sentence, "I don't want any life that isn't here with you."

Leon couldn't stop the intense satisfaction rising from his gut at hearing those words. For a moment he thought of telling the blonde not to go, of packing their things and moving away and starting over somewhere fresh. But his earlier meeting with Sephiroth came back to haunt him, dissolving the selfish fantasy like a blade through a cloud of smoke.

"After all you've been through, "Leon said, lifting his eyes to meet pleading blue, "The least you deserve is to be free of that psychopath. I'm not going to take that away from you, no matter how hard it's going to be for me to let you go."

They sat in silence, each going over their own thoughts in their head. Cloud studied his hands, trying to keep his emotions in check.

"So this is it?" he said finally, staring intently at the man next to him, who in such a limited amount of time had come to mean everything. "We come crashing into each other's lives to find love and then throw it away?" he couldn't stop the hysteria from tugging at his voice. It was a mash of anger and sadness and desperation, it was the most intense thing he'd ever felt and any second he felt he'd burst into tears against his will.

"We're not throwing it away." Leon said matter of factly. In this moment he was completely and totally unsure of every of his life but this one. What they had couldn't be thrown away. As if to reinforce this Leon raised his hand to grip the back of Clouds head, bringing his own forward so that their lips met in a passionate kiss that was heavily laced with desperation.

Cloud returned the kiss with equal ferocity, hands quickly finding their way to the hem of the others shirt and underneath, carefully roaming the expanse of cool flesh, memorizing each and every curve and dip of the others body. Leon mimicked Clouds actions, pushing the others coat off, breaking the kiss briefly to remove Clouds shirt, and then his own before descending on the other again. They were both all too aware of just how important this was. It was this moment they'd recall for the rest of their life, and it was this moment they'd desperately try in vain to forget when the ache got particularly bad.

* * *

When Leon awoke the next morning the blonde was gone. The dark curtains had been drawn so the sunlight filtered in a bleak and dreary grey. He sat up, the covers falling easily around him, and placed a hand on the side of the bed, feeling no lingering warmth. It was as if the other had never existed, and he might as well have not have. Repeating the story to anyone would sound like an elaborate dream, or some drug induced hallucination. Who would believe that a man had fallen out of the sky and into his home, capturing his heart and changing his life forever?

But regardless of whether Cloud had been real or imaginary Leon's life _had_ been changed. He had previously strolled through life without ever having known anything else other than the life he was living, and therefore couldn't be moved to long for more. But the blonde had entered his life and begun to fill a void the brunette was not aware of even possessing. Then, before he could completely seal the hole in Leon's heart he was gone, leaving the brunette all too aware of its biting existence.

Leon ran a hand through his hair, suddenly exhausted despite having just woken up. With a sigh he stood up from the bed, crossing over his discarded clothing to the window and opening the curtains. He didn't flinch when the sunlight hit his dark adjusted eyes, he merely lifted his gaze to the impossibly blue sky wondering what the other was doing, and envying the endless clouds for now possessing the one he no longer did.

His eyes caught the sight of a folded piece of white beneath his phone on the nightstand, and he turned to it, letting the curtains fall closed. Cautiously, he lifted shaking hands to slip it out, sitting on the bed before flipping it open. There, in slightly slanted but legible handwriting was his name. After a deep, shaky sigh he read on, two sentences lacking any type of embellishment or complexity that meant so much none the less.

_ This is not goodbye.  
I love you._

Drops of moisture fell onto the paper and Leon had to lift a hand to his face to feel them in order to be sure they were his own. He could not remember another time he had cried in his entire life. His heart felt strangely wounded, like someone had been pulling, and pulling on it in a vain attempt at destroying it but left the job half done. The bruised, tired muscle continued to beat against his will and Leon could do nothing but let the tears fall.

He knew, in his heart that the blonde needed to say those words more than he himself needed to hear them. The blonde needed to delude himself with naïve notions of happily ever afters, but Leon knew the difference between life and the stories in the books the other enjoyed so much.

Leon knew Cloud would not return.

**

* * *

  
**

"I've decided to rebuild the video store," Riku said, twirling the coffee mug idly in his hands as he observed his former employees in the quaint coffee shop a few blocks away from where the rubble that was Hollow Bastion Video. "I understand that you can't wait for it to be completed and that I can't be so selfish as to ask you all drop your jobs and return once it is but it's too big of a part of our lives to just throw away. I just thought you all should know I wouldn't do that."

Sora beamed at his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around the other boy in a loving hug, "I'm behind whatever you do 100%!" he exclaimed, placing a kiss to the others jaw.

Leon's entire body ached at the sight, at the memory of the feel of holding someone else in his arms but he bottled it away, appearing the ever stoic and reserved man he always was.

'_Life goes on_,' Leon thought, vaguely registering Yuffie's shout's of happiness. '_You're entire world flips upside down, but it means absolutely nothing_.'

"Isn't that great Leon!?" Yuffie'd exclaimed, pulling the other out of his thoughts.

"What?" he asked, not having heard a word that was said.

"Riku was able to work something out with the insurance company, if we want, we can continue to get paid as employees helping to rebuild the video store!" Sora exclaimed.

"So whaddya say Leonheart?" Riku asked with a hopeful smirk, "You in for a few more years stuck with us?"

Leon lifted his coffee and took a sip. Things would return to normal. It would be as if the blonde had been nothing more than a passing dream.

"Whatever." He said, causing Yuffie and Sora to cry out gleefully.

Life would go on.

**

* * *

  
**

"We the court, find the defendant not guilty and the previous ruling and sentence null in void." Namine said, banging the gavel to signal the end of the review.

The courtroom erupted into cheers and Cloud vaguely registered Namine turning to order Sephiroth placed under arrest before he was tackled in a hug from Aerith.

"Cloud! We did it! You're innocent!" she exclaimed, laughing happily. Cloud returned the gesture, almost too shocked to comment. "You can get your wings back!"

Cloud grinned, happy to have his name cleared. He was innocent and life could go back to normal. He could return to his job at a higher rank before and live out his days eternally as an angel. Here he had everything he wanted, except for one thing. Cloud felt his heart pull a bit as he remembered Leon's grey eyes, and the rare but none the less exceptional smile the brunette would occasionally grace him and only him with.

"I'm so sorry for all that you've been through," Namine said, smiling at Cloud fondly, "But you're finally free to return to where you belong."

Aerith grinned, "Welcome home."

Cloud nodded, this _was_ his home. This was where he belonged, and yet it didn't feel that way.

**

* * *

  
**

"Whoa, Looking good!" Yuffie exclaimed, sipping her coffee from the sidelines with Riku.

"It's coming along amazing!" Riku said in agreement, sitting casually on a pile of wood.

"Lazy bums," Sora muttered darkly, straightening the last letter on the new store sign and unraveling the '_Coming Soon'_ banner to hang over it.

Leon smiled inwardly from where he stood, holding the ladder straight. For the past seven months they'd all been working diligently to restore the video store to its former glory, and with the help of a construction team it was now almost completed.

Sora signaled that he was done, and Leon moved aside so that the other could climb down.

"Great job babe," Riku said, enveloping the other in a loving embrace, gracing the other with a sincere kiss.

Leon felt his clumsily repaired heart deflate. The last seven months had been spent with every waking moment thrown into work, often times he worked harder than the professional construction workers. Riku, Sora, and Yuffie knew it had something to do with the blonde who had suddenly disappeared from their lives, but knew it wasn't something Leon was ready to talk about just yet.

Although while he was working Leon was able to forget, once he was alone with his thoughts it all come flooding back to him and he couldn't ignore the gnawing ache any longer.

"Sun's setting," Sora remarked, hand resting comfortably in Riku's.

"The rest of the workers have gone home," the silver haired man said, "I guess we should too."

"See you guys tomorrow!" Yuffie exclaimed, gathering up the empty coffee cups and waving her goodbyes.

"Later Leon," Riku said.

The brunette nodded.

"You have a good night ok Leon?" Sora said, with such empathy and sincerity that Leon felt his heart swelling up back to normal a bit. He smiled, ruffling the others hair before turning on his way.

Riku and Sora exchanged wide eyed looks at the unexpected behavior before Sora laughed and dragged his boyfriend along.

* * *

Leon stared straight ahead as he walked, painstakingly careful not to look at any of the places or things that would remind him of the blonde. Every morning he woke up wishing to forget everything that had to do with the previous year, but he couldn't. He knew that the others statement had been nothing more than naïve self assurance, but it didn't stop him from hoping. But a week passed, then a month, then two and that hope disappeared, leaving behind only a wider hole than the brunette had ever been aware of. He wanted to forget, but he knew deep down that was impossible.

Never the less, just as he predicted, life went on. He was alive, and he supposed that it was a start.

But he would never truly be whole. He figured, he couldn't ever expect to, living this way.

He saw the mass of blonde spike peeking above the neatly cut bush from the beginning of the block and his heart dropped from his chest. '_It's not him, it can't be him_.' He thought, using all the self control he had not to dash over to his house.

There, sitting on the steps leading to the front door sat Cloud, looking exactly as Leon remembered him every day. He stood up when he saw the brunette, smiling nervously. "Hey."

Leon's eyes widened and he took a step forward, pausing on the pathway, afraid that if he walked any closer the blonde would disappear. "Cloud." He stated the verbal confirmation that the man in front of him was indeed his lover.

Cloud nodded, taking a few steps toward the other. "I thought I'd use the door this time but I didn't have the key." He said, laughing sheepishly.

"You're back?" Leon asked quietly. He half expected to blink and find that the blonde was merely a figment of his imagination.

"For good," Cloud said, "If you'll have me" he added nervously, it suddenly dawning on him that the brunette may have moved on. "I understand if you won't, seven months is a long time after all. You're probably mad at me, I wouldn't blame you, I'd be mad at me too. I shouldn't have come I'm being stupid I'm sorry to bother-"

"Damn it Cloud," the brunette growled, crossing the distance between the two of them and ending the blondes rambling with a fierce and passionate kiss. The blonde returned it with equal intensity, raising his hands so that he could tangle his fingers in the brunette's hair, cut since the last time he saw it. This time, their hands moved with the same amount of care and precision as before, only now they were rediscovering instead of memorizing.

Cloud smiled into the kiss, breaking away from the other for much needed air. "Don't you think we should take this inside?" he said. "I think one of the neighbors is watching from her window."

"Mm screw her I don't care," Leon mumbled pressing kisses along the curves of the others neck. Everything about the other was intoxicating. The feel of him, his smell, his touch, Leon was going mad with the assault of it all.

"Didn't know you were an exhibitionist Leon." Cloud joked, resting his arms around the other, "What else has changed since I've been gone?"

Leon rolled his eyes, pulling away and moving to unlock the door, "Happy dear?" he said sarcastically, flipping off the nosy neighbor who hastily disappeared, white curtains falling shut.

Cloud walked up the steps, wrapping his arms around the other once more, "You have no idea." He said, pressing his lips to the others once more.

"Don't ever go anywhere again." Leon said, pulling away to glare pointedly at the other.

Cloud nodded, "I won't, I promise."

Leon smirked, capturing the others lips once more. Without breaking the kiss he slammed the door behind them.

They had _a lot_ of catching up to do.

_::the end::_

**a|n:**  
YAYYY!! **Angel's Tale** is finally DONE. I originally wanted to get this done by christmas, but let's just say I got a bit sidetracked ^^;  
I did keep my promise of updating before the new year however so WOO HOO. I wrote and rewrote this chapter and am still not completely happy with it but what will be will be.

Thanks **so much** to everyone who's read/reviewed/favorited/alerted this story. Thank you all SO MUCH for your kind words that kept me going, and for those of you who've stuck with me for so long THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU x1,000,000. I don't think there are words in any language to express just how much this has meant to me.

I hope you enjoyed this ending and story, don't forget to review!

Thanks for reading ::hearts::

once again, I creepily profess my love for you & hug you against your will ::smile::

[[Also, anyone who's read **beautiful disaster** I'd really love & be grateful if you'd take the poll in my profile! Thank you!]]


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